Mismatch
American Economic Review
vol. 97,
no. 4, September 2007
(pp. 1074-1101)
Abstract
This paper develops a dynamic model of mismatch. Workers and jobs are randomly allocated to labor markets. Each market clears, but some have excess (unemployed) workers and some have excess (vacant) jobs. As workers and jobs switch markets, unemployed workers find vacancies and employed workers become unemployed. The model is quantitatively consistent with the business cycle frequency comovement of unemployment, vacancies, and the job finding rate and explains much of these variables' volatility. It can also address cyclicality in the separation rate into unemployment and duration dependence in the job finding rate. The results are robust to some nonrandom mobility. (JEL E24, J41, J63, J64)Citation
Shimer, Robert. 2007. "Mismatch." American Economic Review, 97 (4): 1074-1101. DOI: 10.1257/aer.97.4.1074Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital
- J41 Labor Contracts
- J63 Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
- J64 Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search