Determinants of Job Search Intensity – Some Evidence from the Nordic Countries

This paper examines the determinants of the job search intensity of unemployed job seekers in three Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland and Norway. For this purpose we use data from a survey carried out in the three countries in 1998 by means of a common questionnaire. For each country we study two samples; a stock sample consisting of individuals still unemployed at the time they were interviewed and a flow sample including the job seekers who had left unemployment when interviewed. The analysis concerns two decisions: i) whether or not to search, and ii) given positive search, the magnitude of the search effort. In addition to individual characteristics, the explanatory variables are participation in labour market programmes, unemployment benefits, attitudes to work, individual consequences of unemployment and the demand situation in the local labour market. We find rather big differences between the countries with respect to the relative importance of the determinants of job search intensity. Some common features are: Positive work attitudes are positively related to job search. Those reporting economic problems as a consequence of their unemployment search more intensively than others. In Finland and Norway, unemployment benefit recipients are more likely to search actively than non-claimants, whereas in Denmark the groups do not differ. A positive impact is consistent with non-claimants being less attached to the labour market.