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Cyclical Upgrading of Labor and Employment Differences across Skill Groups

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  • Chassamboulli Andri

    (University of Cyprus)

Abstract

This paper examines the cyclical properties of employment rates in a search and matching model that features heterogeneous workers and jobs. I capture heterogeneity by postulating two skill levels: high and low. All low-skill workers can produce in only low-skill jobs, whereas some high-skill workers can produce in both high-and low-skill jobs. My analysis highlights the importance of a vertical type of transitory skill mismatch, in which workers accept jobs below their skill level to escape unemployment and upgrade by on-the-job search, in explaining why employment is typically lower and more procyclical at lower skill levels. The model is also consistent with other important features of the labor market, such as a procyclical rate of job-to-job transitions and evidence on cyclical changes in the composition of job quality. In recessions outflows from unemployment shift the distribution of high-skill workers toward low-skill jobs, while expansions allow them to upgrade to high-skill jobs through job-to-job transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Chassamboulli Andri, 2011. "Cyclical Upgrading of Labor and Employment Differences across Skill Groups," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-42, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:11:y:2011:i:1:n:14
    DOI: 10.2202/1935-1690.2194
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    Cited by:

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    2. Summerfield, Fraser, 2014. "Labor Market Conditions, Skill Requirements and Education Mismatch," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2014-19, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 28 Apr 2014.
    3. Fraser Summerfield & Ioannis Theodossiou, 2017. "The Effects Of Macroeconomic Conditions At Graduation On Overeducation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1370-1387, July.
    4. Xiangbo Liu & Theodore Palivos & Xiaomeng Zhang, 2017. "Immigration, Skill Heterogeneity, And Qualification Mismatch," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(3), pages 1231-1264, July.
    5. Richard Holt, 2020. "The Costs of Mismatch," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 298, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
    6. George Liontos & Konstantinos Mavrigiannakis & Eugenia Vella, 2023. "The Macroeconomics of Skills Mismatch in the Presence of Emigration," DEOS Working Papers 2314, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    7. Cuadras-Morató Xavier & Mateos-Planas Xavier, 2013. "Overeducation and skill-biased technical change," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 105-122, September.
    8. Konstantinos Mavrigiannakis & Andreas Vasilatos & Eugenia Vella, 2023. "Fiscal Tightening and Skills Mismatch," DEOS Working Papers 2313, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    9. Stephen B. DeLoach & Mark Kurt, 2018. "On-the-Job Search, Mismatch and Worker Heterogeneity," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 39(2), pages 219-233, June.
    10. Brendan Epstein, 2012. "Heterogeneous workers, optimal job seeking, and aggregate labor market dynamics," International Finance Discussion Papers 1053, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    employment; business cycle; search and matching; skill heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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