IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tin/wpaper/20040109.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Sequential or Non-sequential Recruitment?

Author

Listed:
  • Jos van Ommeren

    (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

  • Giovanni Russo

    (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Abstract

This paper examines the recruitment process of firms. We test whether firms search sequentially or non-sequentially using data compiled from filled vacancies. According to theory, in case of sequential hiring, the number of applicants is proportional to the number of employees hired, whereas in case of non-sequential hiring, the number of applicants increases by less. We distinguish between different types of recruitment methods. We find that the sequential hiring is rejected for a number of methods (including advertisements) covering almost half of the vacancies, and the large majority of the job applications by job seekers. Informal recruitment methods tend to imply sequential search.

Suggested Citation

  • Jos van Ommeren & Giovanni Russo, 2004. "Sequential or Non-sequential Recruitment?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 04-109/3, Tinbergen Institute, revised 15 Sep 2008.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20040109
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/04109.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pierre Cahuc & Fabien Postel-Vinay & Jean-Marc Robin, 2006. "Wage Bargaining with On-the-Job Search: Theory and Evidence," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(2), pages 323-364, March.
    2. Devine, T. J. & Kiefer, N. M., 1995. "The empirical status of job search theory," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 101-101, March.
    3. George A. Akerlof, 1981. "Jobs as Dam Sites," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 48(1), pages 37-49.
    4. Kevin Lang & Sumon Majumdar, 2004. "The Pricing Of Job Characteristics When Markets Do Not Clear: Theory And Policy Implications," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1111-1128, November.
    5. Albrecht, James W. & Gautier, Pieter A. & Vroman, Susan B., 2003. "Matching with multiple applications," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 67-70, January.
    6. Joseph Hilbe, 1994. "Negative binomial regression," Stata Technical Bulletin, StataCorp LP, vol. 3(18).
    7. van Ours, J C & Ridder, G, 1993. "Vacancy Durations: Search or Selection?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 55(2), pages 187-198, May.
    8. Barron, John M & Bishop, John & Dunkelberg, William C, 1985. "Employer Search: The Interviewing and Hiring of New Employees," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(1), pages 43-52, February.
    9. Rami Zwick & Amnon Rapoport & Alison King Chung Lo & A. V. Muthukrishnan, 2003. "Consumer Sequential Search: Not Enough or Too Much?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 503-519, October.
    10. James Albrecht & Pieter A. Gautier & Susan Vroman, 2006. "Equilibrium Directed Search with Multiple Applications," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(4), pages 869-891.
    11. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/dc0ckec3fcb29ms9850c12h1p is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Abbring, J. H. & van Ours, J. C., 1994. "Sequential or non-sequential employers' search?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 323-328.
    13. Christopher A. Pissarides, 2000. "Equilibrium Unemployment Theory, 2nd Edition," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262161877, April.
    14. van Ours, Jan & Ridder, Geert, 1992. "Vacancies and the Recruitment of New Employees," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(2), pages 138-155, April.
    15. Burda, Michael C. & Profit, Stefan, 1996. "Matching across space: Evidence on mobility in the Czech Republic," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 255-278, October.
    16. Coles, Melvyn G, 1999. "Turnover Externalities with Marketplace Trading," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 40(4), pages 851-868, November.
    17. John Mullahy, 1997. "Instrumental-Variable Estimation Of Count Data Models: Applications To Models Of Cigarette Smoking Behavior," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 586-593, November.
    18. Giovanni Russo & Wolter Hassink & Cees Gorter, 2005. "Filling vacancies: an empirical analysis of the cost and benefit of search in the labour market," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(14), pages 1597-1606.
    19. Gautier, Pieter A., 2002. "Non-sequential search, screening externalities and the public good role of recruitment offices," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 179-196, March.
    20. Coles, Melvyn G & Smith, Eric, 1998. "Marketplaces and Matching," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(1), pages 239-254, February.
    21. Gerard J. van den Berg & Geert Ridder, 1998. "An Empirical Equilibrium Search Model of the Labor Market," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(5), pages 1183-1222, September.
    22. Arthur J. Hosios, 1990. "On The Efficiency of Matching and Related Models of Search and Unemployment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 57(2), pages 279-298.
    23. van den Berg, Gerard J, 1999. "Empirical Inference with Equilibrium Search Models of the Labour Market," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(456), pages 283-306, June.
    24. Stephen A. Woodbury & Carl Davidson, 2002. "Search Theory and Unemployment," Books from Upjohn Press, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, number sawcd2002, December.
    25. Stigler, George J., 2011. "Economics of Information," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 5, pages 35-49.
    26. van Ours, Jan & Ridder, Geert, 1991. "Job requirements and the recruitment of new employees," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 213-218, June.
    27. Jed Devaro, 2005. "Employer Recruitment Strategies and the Labor Market Outcomes of New Hires," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 43(2), pages 263-282, April.
    28. Roper, Stephen, 1988. "Recruitment Methods and Vacancy Duration," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 35(1), pages 51-64, February.
    29. Peter B. Morgan, 1983. "Search and Optimal Sample Sizes," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 50(4), pages 659-675.
    30. Burdett, Kenneth & Mortensen, Dale T, 1998. "Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(2), pages 257-273, May.
    31. James Albrecht, Pieter Gautier, & Susan Vroman, 2003. "Matching with Multiple Applications: The Limiting Case," Working Papers gueconwpa~03-03-25, Georgetown University, Department of Economics.
    32. Melvyn G. Coles & Abhinay Muthoo, 1998. "Strategic Bargaining and Competitive Bidding in a Dynamic Market Equilibrium," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 65(2), pages 235-260.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jos van Ommeren & Giovanni Russo, 2014. "Firm Recruitment Behaviour: Sequential or Non-sequential Search?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 76(3), pages 432-455, June.
    2. Gautier, Pieter A. & Moraga-González, José L. & Wolthoff, Ronald P., 2007. "Structural Estimation of Search Intensity: Do Non-Employed Workers Search Enough?," IZA Discussion Papers 3045, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Ronald P. Wolthoff, 2010. "Applications and Interviews: A Structural Analysis of Two-Sided Simultaneous Search," Working Papers tecipa-418, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    4. Bemjamin Villena-Roldan, 2009. "Aggregate Implications of Employer Search and Recruiting Selection," 2009 Meeting Papers 97, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. Sengul, Gonul, 2017. "Effect of labor market policies on unemployment when firms adapt their recruitment strategy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 169-179.
    6. Domenico Ferraro, 2018. "The Asymmetric Cyclical Behavior of the U.S. Labor Market," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 30, pages 145-162, October.
    7. Domenico Ferraro, 2018. "The Asymmetric Cyclical Behavior of the U.S. Labor Market," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 30, pages 145-162, October.
    8. Pieter Gautier & Jose Luis Moraga-Gonzalez & Ronald Wolthoff, 2007. "Structural Estimation of Search Intensity: Do non-employed workers search hard enough?," 2007 Meeting Papers 695, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Decreuse, Bruno & Zylberberg, André, 2006. "Job search with ubiquity and the wage distribution," MPRA Paper 3630, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Apr 2007.
    10. Manning, Alan, 2011. "Imperfect Competition in the Labor Market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 11, pages 973-1041, Elsevier.
    11. Philipp Kircher, 2009. "Efficiency of Simultaneous Search," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(5), pages 861-913, October.
    12. Christopher A. Pissarides & Barbara Petrongolo, 2001. "Looking into the Black Box: A Survey of the Matching Function," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 390-431, June.
    13. Fontaine, François, 2008. "Why are similar workers paid differently? the role of social networks," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 32(12), pages 3960-3977, December.
    14. Vera Brenčič, 2012. "Wage posting: evidence from job ads," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(4), pages 1529-1559, November.
    15. Gregg, Paul & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2005. "Stock-flow matching and the performance of the labor market," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(8), pages 1987-2011, November.
    16. Oyer, Paul & Schaefer, Scott, 2011. "Personnel Economics: Hiring and Incentives," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 20, pages 1769-1823, Elsevier.
    17. Pierre Cahuc & François Fontaine, 2009. "On the Efficiency of Job Search with Social Networks," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 11(3), pages 411-439, June.
    18. Manning, Alan, 1999. "Pretty vacant: recruitment in low wage labour markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 20231, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Ehrenfried, Felix & Holzner, Christian, 2019. "Dynamics and endogeneity of firms’ recruitment behaviour," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 63-84.
    20. Lars Behrenz, 2001. "Who Gets the Job and Why? an Explorative Study of Employers'recruitment Behavior," Journal of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 255-278, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    sequential search; recruitment;

    JEL classification:

    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20040109. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tinbergen Office +31 (0)10-4088900 (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tinbenl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.