Search behavior of workers and firms and implications for matching outcomes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Labor market matching is a complex process which is slowed down by frictions that impede the efficient reallocation of workers and jobs. Existing theories of the labor market following the search-and-matching approach are usually evaluated and tested on the basis of data on individual earnings histories or matched employer-employee datasets. However, these data are ultimately not sufficient to learn about the frictions that slow down match formation and determine the search behavior of both workers and firms. The goal of this project is to link several worker and firm data and to use them to provide new insights on the worker-firm matching processes and their implications for labor market dynamics. Specifically, we explore new German survey data about firms’ recruitment and workers’ job search strategies and link these data to existing administrative datasets. With the help of such linked data we will develop and quantitatively assess theoretical model frameworks in order to examine several research questions. First, we want to understand the choices of search channels by both workers and firms and their implications for matching outcomes. Second, we assess different dimensions of recruitment intensity on the employer side and their role for matching efficiency across local labor markets and over time. Third, we analyze the impact of local labor and housing market conditions for the regional scope of labor market search and their implications for the mobility of workers and jobs.