Do Employers Use Unemployment as a Sorting Criterion When Hiring? Evidence from a Field Experiment
(2014) In The American Economic Review 104(3). p.1014-1039- Abstract
- The stigma associated with long-term unemployment spells could create large inefficiencies in labor markets. While the existing literature points toward large stigma effects, it has proven difficult to estimate causal relationships. Using data from a field experiment, we find that long-term unemployment spells in the past do not matter for employers' hiring decisions, suggesting that subsequent work experience eliminates this negative signal. Nor do employers treat contemporary short-term unemployment spells differently, suggesting that they understand that worker/firm matching takes time. However, employers attach a negative value to contemporary unemployment spells lasting at least nine months, providing evidence of stigma effects.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4495823
- author
- Eriksson, Stefan and Rooth, Dan-Olof LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2014
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- The American Economic Review
- volume
- 104
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 1014 - 1039
- publisher
- American Economic Association
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000334497800010
- scopus:84896909772
- ISSN
- 0002-8282
- DOI
- 10.1257/aer.104.3.1014
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- dc229bf9-6ffa-414d-812b-24a0989e6981 (old id 4495823)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:46:22
- date last changed
- 2022-03-21 20:20:29
@article{dc229bf9-6ffa-414d-812b-24a0989e6981, abstract = {{The stigma associated with long-term unemployment spells could create large inefficiencies in labor markets. While the existing literature points toward large stigma effects, it has proven difficult to estimate causal relationships. Using data from a field experiment, we find that long-term unemployment spells in the past do not matter for employers' hiring decisions, suggesting that subsequent work experience eliminates this negative signal. Nor do employers treat contemporary short-term unemployment spells differently, suggesting that they understand that worker/firm matching takes time. However, employers attach a negative value to contemporary unemployment spells lasting at least nine months, providing evidence of stigma effects.}}, author = {{Eriksson, Stefan and Rooth, Dan-Olof}}, issn = {{0002-8282}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{3}}, pages = {{1014--1039}}, publisher = {{American Economic Association}}, series = {{The American Economic Review}}, title = {{Do Employers Use Unemployment as a Sorting Criterion When Hiring? Evidence from a Field Experiment}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.3.1014}}, doi = {{10.1257/aer.104.3.1014}}, volume = {{104}}, year = {{2014}}, }