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Ethnic unemployment rates and frictional markets

Author

Listed:
  • Laurent Gobillon

    (CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, INED - Institut national d'études démographiques)

  • Peter Rupert

    (UC Santa Barbara - University of California [Santa Barbara] - UC - University of California)

  • Etienne Wasmer

    (Sciences Po - Sciences Po)

Abstract

The unemployment rate in France is roughly 6 percentage points higher for African immigrants than for natives. In the US the unemployment rate is approximately 9 percentage points higher for blacks than for whites. Commute time data indicates that minorities face longer commute times to work, potentially reflecting more difficult access to jobs. In this paper we investigate the impact of spatial mismatch on the unemployment rate of ethnic groups using the matching model proposed by Rupert and Wasmer (2012). We find that spatial factors explain 1-1.5 percentage points of the unemployment rate gap in both France and the US, amounting to 17-25% of the relative gap in France and about 10-17.5% in the US. Among these factors, differences in commuting distance play the most important role. In France, though, longer commuting distances may be mitigated by higher mobility in the housing market for African workers. Overall, we still conclude that labor market factors remain the main explanation for the higher unemployment rate of Africans.

Suggested Citation

  • Laurent Gobillon & Peter Rupert & Etienne Wasmer, 2014. "Ethnic unemployment rates and frictional markets," Post-Print halshs-00942638, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00942638
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2013.06.001
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Ethnic ghettos and unemployment
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2013-08-23 19:52:00

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Phillips, David C., 2014. "Getting to work: Experimental evidence on job search and transportation costs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 72-82.
    2. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Decreuse, Bruno & Schmutz, Benoît & Trannoy, Alain, 2018. "Neighbor discrimination theory and evidence from the French rental market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 104-123.
    3. Neumark, David & Simpson, Helen, 2015. "Place-Based Policies," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1197-1287, Elsevier.
    4. Francois Bonnet & Etienne Lalé & Mirna Safi & Etienne Wasmer, 2016. "Better residential than ethnic discrimination! Reconciling audit and interview findings in the Parisian housing market," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(13), pages 2815-2833, October.
    5. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/chhq38puf8c1pmc4hdah6ev58 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Elisa Guglielminetti & Rafael Lalive & Philippe Ruh & Etienne Wasmer, 2019. "Home Sweet Home? Job Search with Commuting and Unemployment Insurance," Working Papers hal-03950253, HAL.
    7. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Decreuse, Bruno & Schmutz, Benoît & Trannoy, Alain, 2018. "Neighbor discrimination theory and evidence from the French rental market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 104-123.
    8. Picard, Pierre M. & Zenou, Yves, 2018. "Urban spatial structure, employment and social ties," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 77-93.
    9. Rathelot, Roland, 2014. "Ethnic differentials on the labor market in the presence of asymmetric spatial sorting: Set identification and estimation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 154-167.
    10. Forsythe, Eliza & Wu, Jhih-Chian, 2021. "Explaining Demographic Heterogeneity in Cyclical Unemployment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    11. Elisa Guglielminetti & Rafael Lalive & Philippe Ruh & Etienne Wasmer, 2015. "Spatial search strategies of job seekers and the role of unemployment insurance," SciencePo Working papers hal-03393225, HAL.
    12. repec:hal:journl:hal-03403442 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Niebuhr, Annekatrin & Peters, Jan Cornelius & Roth, Duncan H.W., 2024. "Dynamic agglomeration effects of foreigners and natives – The role of experience in high-quality sectors, tasks and establishments," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    14. Elisa Guglielminetti & Rafael Lalive & Philippe Ruh & Etienne Wasmer, 2015. "Spatial search strategies of job seekers and the role of unemployment insurance," Working Papers hal-03393225, HAL.
    15. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/4n249fe9fu9n7qnntf71h06q6n is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Ucar, Erdem, 2024. "Female talent and corporate social performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    17. Yang LIU & Keisuke KAWATA, 2015. "Labor Market and the Native-Immigrant Wage Gap: Evidence from urban China," Discussion papers 15142, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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