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Life-Cycle Worker Flows and Cross-Country Differences in Aggregate Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Créchet, Jonathan

    (University of Ottawa)

  • Lalé, Etienne

    (York University, Canada)

  • Tarasonis, Linas

    (Bank of Lithuania)

Abstract

Cross-country employment differences are concentrated among women, the youth, and older individuals. In this paper, we document how worker flows between employment, unemployment, and out of the labor force vary by gender and age and contribute to aggregate employment differences across a large panel of European countries. We then build a life-cycle Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model capturing the salient features of our data. Key elements of the model are an extensive margin (i.e., labor force participation) and intensive margin (i.e., variable intensity) of search effort. The model attributes a major role to the production technology in driving differences in aggregate employment, while labor-market policies play a minor role. Search effort substantially amplifies the effects of technology across gender and age groups and is a prominent proximate cause of the cross-country variation in aggregate employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Créchet, Jonathan & Lalé, Etienne & Tarasonis, Linas, 2024. "Life-Cycle Worker Flows and Cross-Country Differences in Aggregate Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 16878, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16878
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    employment; unemployment; labor force participation; life cycle; worker flows; labor market institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition

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