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Different Skill Levels and Firing Costs in a Matching Model with Uncertainty - An Extension of Mortensen and Pissarides (1994)

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  • Kohns, Stephan

    (Statistisches Bundesamt)

Abstract

A matching model in the line of Mortensen and Pissarides (1994) is augmented with a low- skill labor market and firing costs. It is shown that even with flexible wages unemployment is higher among the low-skilled and increases with skill-biased technological change. The two main reasons are that their jobs have a shorter life expectancy than in the labor market for the skilled, increasing the inflow into unemployment, and that the jobs are less profitable, resulting in a smaller outflow from unemployment. Firing costs increase employment security among existing jobs, but the unskilled are likely to profit less than the skilled, and the availability of new jobs decreases in both sectors. Within the present framework the effect of firing costs on unemployment is ambiguous, but unemployment spells are shown to be longer with higher firing costs. The implications of explicitly introducing business cycles into the model are considered, too.

Suggested Citation

  • Kohns, Stephan, 2000. "Different Skill Levels and Firing Costs in a Matching Model with Uncertainty - An Extension of Mortensen and Pissarides (1994)," IZA Discussion Papers 104, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp104
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David T. Coe & Dennis J. Snower, 1997. "Policy Complementarities: The Case for Fundamental Labor Market Reform," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 44(1), pages 1-35, March.
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    7. Mortensen, Dale & Pissarides, Christopher, 2011. "Job Creation and Job Destruction in the Theory of Unemployment," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 1, pages 1-19.
    8. Christopher A. Pissarides, 1992. "Loss of Skill During Unemployment and the Persistence of Employment Shocks," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(4), pages 1371-1391.
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    Cited by:

    1. Simon D Woodcock, 2002. "Modeling Labor Markets with Heterogeneous Agents and Matches," Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Technical Papers 2002-19, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    2. Simon D Woodcock, 2002. "Agent Heterogeneity and Learning: An Application to Labor Markets," Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Technical Papers 2002-20, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firing costs; low-skill unemployment; dual labor market; vacancies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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