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The Alpha Beta Gamma of the Labor Market

Author

Listed:
  • Victoria Gregory
  • Guido Menzio
  • David Wiczer

Abstract

Using a large panel dataset of US workers, we calibrate a search-theoretic model of the labor market, where workers are heterogeneous with respect to the parameters governing their employment transitions. We first approximate heterogeneity with a discrete number of latent types, and then calibrate type-specific parameters by matching type-specific moments. Heterogeneity is well approximated by 3 types: as, �s and ?s. Workers of type a find employment quickly because they have large gains from trade, and stick to their jobs because their productivity is similar across jobs. Workers of type ? find employment slowly because they have small gains from trade, and are unlikely to stick to their job because they keep searching for jobs in the right tail of the productivity distribution. During the Great Recession, the magnitude and persistence of aggregate unemployment is caused by ?s, who are vulnerable to shocks and, once displaced, they cycle through multiple unemployment spells before finding stable employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Victoria Gregory & Guido Menzio & David Wiczer, 2022. "The Alpha Beta Gamma of the Labor Market," Working Papers 22-10, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    • Handle: RePEc:cen:wpaper:22-10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Fatih Karahan & Serdar Ozkan & Jae Song, 2019. "Anatomy of Lifetime Earnings Inequality: Heterogeneity in Job Ladder Risk vs. Human Capital," Staff Reports 908, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    2. Alexander Bick & Adam Blandin, 2023. "Employer Reallocation During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Validation and Application of a Do-It-Yourself CPS," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 49, pages 58-76, July.
    3. Bagliano, Fabio C. & Fugazza, Carolina & Nicodano, Giovanna, 2024. "Life-cycle risk-taking with personal disaster risk," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PB), pages 378-396.
    4. Kevin L. McKinney & John M. Abowd & Hubert P. Janicki, 2022. "U.S. long‐term earnings outcomes by sex, race, ethnicity, and place of birth," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(4), pages 1879-1945, November.
    5. Denderski, Piotr & Stoltenberg, Christian A., 2023. "On the existence of private unemployment insurance with advance information on future job losses," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    6. Victoria Gregory & Guido Menzio & David Wiczer, 2021. "Worker Types, Job Displacement, and Duration Dependence," Economic Synopses, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue 13, pages 1-2, June.
    7. Garita, Jonathan & Pastrana, Guillermo & Slon, Pablo, 2024. "Job displacement effects and labor market sorting during COVID-19," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 5(2).
    8. Victoria Gregory & Guido Menzio & David Wiczer, 2021. "Classifying Worker Types in the U.S. Labor Market," Economic Synopses, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue 10, pages 1-2, May.
    9. Benjamin Lester & David A. Rivers & Giorgio Topa, 2021. "The Heterogeneous Impact of Referrals on Labor Market Outcomes," Staff Reports 987, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    10. Goensch, Johannes & Gulyas, Andreas & Kospentaris, Ioannis, 2024. "Worker mobility and UI extensions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    11. Poschke, Markus, 2019. "Wage Employment, Unemployment and Self-Employment across Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 12367, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Search frictions; Unemployment; Business Cycles;
    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
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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