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Training or search? evidence and an equilibrium model

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  • Jun Nie

Abstract

Training programs are a major tool of labor market policies in OECD countries. I use a unique panel data set on the labor market experience of individual German workers between 2000 and 2002 to estimate a dynamic model of search and training, which allows me to quantify the impact of training programs and unemployment benefits on employment, unemployment, output, and the government expenditures. ; The model extends Ljungqvist and Sargent (JPE, 1998) by incorporating a training decision and a broader menu of unemployment benefits. Government-sponsored training programs feature a key trade-off with respect to unemployment insurance programs: they offer more generous unemployment benefits but require more time and effort from workers to generate higher skills. As a result, unemployed workers with different human capital and benefits make different decisions about training, search, and job acceptance. ; I use the model to quantitatively study the recent reforms implemented in Germany and run more counterfactual experiments. I simulate the transition path under back-to-back unexpected reforms in 2003-2006 and find the dynamics of the model's unemployment rates are close to the data. In a counterfactual experiment in which I model an economy with a German-like training system and a US-like unemployment benefit structure (roughly, benefits are lower), I find that employment and output rise substantially.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun Nie, 2010. "Training or search? evidence and an equilibrium model," Research Working Paper RWP 10-03, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp10-03
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    Cited by:

    1. Busl, Claudia & Seymen, Atılım, 2013. "The German labour market reforms in a European context: A DSGE analysis," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-097, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Lei Fang & Jun Nie, 2014. "Human Capital Dynamics and the U.S. Labor Market," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2014-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    3. Krause, Michael U. & Uhlig, Harald, 2012. "Transitions in the German labor market: Structure and crisis," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 64-79.
    4. Jiyeon Kim, 2019. "Skill-Biased Technological Change, Inequality, and the Role of Retraining," Working Paper 7116, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh.

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