IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp16878.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Life-Cycle Worker Flows and Cross-Country Differences in Aggregate Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Créchet, Jonathan

    (University of Ottawa)

  • Lalé, Etienne

    (York University, Canada)

  • Tarasonis, Linas

    (Bank of Lithuania)

Abstract

Cross-country employment differences are concentrated among women, the youth, and older individuals. In this paper, we document how worker flows between employment, unemployment, and out of the labor force vary by gender and age and contribute to aggregate employment differences across a large panel of European countries. We then build a life-cycle Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model capturing the salient features of our data. Key elements of the model are an extensive margin (i.e., labor force participation) and intensive margin (i.e., variable intensity) of search effort. The model attributes a major role to the production technology in driving differences in aggregate employment, while labor-market policies play a minor role. Search effort substantially amplifies the effects of technology across gender and age groups and is a prominent proximate cause of the cross-country variation in aggregate employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Créchet, Jonathan & Lalé, Etienne & Tarasonis, Linas, 2024. "Life-Cycle Worker Flows and Cross-Country Differences in Aggregate Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 16878, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16878
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp16878.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Ulf Rinne & Klaus Zimmermann, 2013. "Youth unemployment in old Europe: the polar cases of France and Germany," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.
    2. Shuaizhang Feng & Yingyao Hu, 2013. "Misclassification Errors and the Underestimation of the US Unemployment Rate," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 1054-1070, April.
    3. Elsby, Michael W.L. & Hobijn, Bart & Şahin, Ayşegül, 2015. "On the importance of the participation margin for labor market fluctuations," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 64-82.
    4. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/8921 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Per Krusell & Toshihiko Mukoyama & Richard Rogerson & Ayşegül Şahin, 2017. "Gross Worker Flows over the Business Cycle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(11), pages 3447-3476, November.
    6. Lars Ljungqvist & Thomas J. Sargent, 2008. "Two Questions about European Unemployment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(1), pages 1-29, January.
    7. Krusell, Per & Mukoyama, Toshihiko & Rogerson, Richard & Sahin, Aysegül, 2011. "A three state model of worker flows in general equilibrium," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 146(3), pages 1107-1133, May.
    8. Pries, Michael & Rogerson, Richard, 2009. "Search frictions and labor market participation," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 568-587, July.
    9. Aguirregabiria, Victor & Mira, Pedro, 2010. "Dynamic discrete choice structural models: A survey," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 156(1), pages 38-67, May.
    10. Cohen, Daniel & Lefranc, Arnaud & Saint-paul, 1997. "French unemployment : a transatlantique perspective," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Couverture Orange) 9705, CEPREMAP.
    11. Cahuc, Pierre & Malherbet, Franck & Prat, Julien, 2019. "The Detrimental Effect of Job Protection on Employment: Evidence from France," IZA Discussion Papers 12384, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Marco Caliendo & Ricarda Schmidl, 2016. "Youth unemployment and active labor market policies in Europe," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-30, December.
    13. Ghazala Azmat & Maia Güell & Alan Manning, 2006. "Gender Gaps in Unemployment Rates in OECD Countries," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(1), pages 1-38, January.
    14. Pietro Garibaldi & Etienne Wasmer, 2005. "Equilibrium Search Unemployment, Endogenous Participation, And Labor Market Flows," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(4), pages 851-882, June.
    15. Shigeru Fujita & Garey Ramey, 2009. "The Cyclicality Of Separation And Job Finding Rates," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 50(2), pages 415-430, May.
    16. Etienne Lalé, 2018. "Turbulence and the employment experience of older workers," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 9(2), pages 735-784, July.
    17. Thierry Magnac & Michael Visser, 1999. "Transition Models With Measurement Errors," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(3), pages 466-474, August.
    18. Daniel Cohen & Arnaud Lefrance & Gilles Saint-Paul, 1997. "French unemployment: a transatlantic perspective," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 12(25), pages 266-291.
    19. Sagiri Kitao & Lars Ljungqvist & Thomas Sargent, 2017. "A Life-Cycle Model of Trans-Atlantic Employment Experiences," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 25, pages 320-349, April.
    20. Melanie Ward-Warmedinger & Corrado Macchiarelli, 2014. "Transitions in labour market status in EU labour markets," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-25, December.
    21. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/8921 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Robert Shimer, 2012. "Reassessing the Ins and Outs of Unemployment," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 15(2), pages 127-148, April.
    23. Sekyu Choi & Alexandre Janiak & Benjamín Villena‐Roldán, 2015. "Unemployment, Participation and Worker Flows Over the Life‐Cycle," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(589), pages 1705-1733, December.
    24. Gorry, Aspen, 2013. "Minimum wages and youth unemployment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 57-75.
    25. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7k0plsobem9tuo09eg04jujb9a is not listed on IDEAS
    26. Jovanovic, Boyan, 1979. "Job Matching and the Theory of Turnover," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 972-990, October.
    27. Johannes Goensch & Andreas Gulyas & Ioannis Kospentaris, 2021. "Unemployment Insurance Reforms in a Search Model With Endogenous Labor Force Participation," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2021_264, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    28. Julen Esteban‐Pretel & Junichi Fujimoto, 2014. "Life‐Cycle Labor Search With Stochastic Match Quality," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 55(2), pages 575-599, May.
    29. Bell, David N.F. & Blanchflower, David G., 2011. "Youth Unemployment in Europe and the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 5673, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    30. Julen Esteban‐Pretel & Junichi Fujimoto, 2014. "Life‐Cycle Labor Search With Stochastic Match Quality," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 55, pages 575-599, May.
    31. Sylvain Leduc & Zheng Liu, 2020. "The Weak Job Recovery in a Macro Model of Search and Recruiting Intensity," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 310-343, January.
    32. Michael Pries & Richard Rogerson, 2005. "Hiring Policies, Labor Market Institutions, and Labor Market Flows," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(4), pages 811-839, August.
    33. Lucas, Robert Jr. & Prescott, Edward C., 1974. "Equilibrium search and unemployment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 188-209, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Etienne Lalé, 2018. "Turbulence and the employment experience of older workers," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 9(2), pages 735-784, July.
    2. Philip Jung & Moritz Kuhn, 2019. "Earnings Losses and Labor Mobility Over the Life Cycle," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 678-724.
    3. Francesco D'Amuri & Marta De Philippis & Elisa Guglielminetti & Salvatore Lo Bello, 2021. "Natural unemployment and activity rates: flow-based determinants and implications for price dynamics," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 599, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. D’Amuri, Francesco & De Philippis, Marta & Guglielminetti, Elisa & Lo Bello, Salvatore, 2022. "Slack and prices during Covid-19: Accounting for labor market participation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Per Krusell & Toshihiko Mukoyama & Richard Rogerson & Aysegul Sahin, 2020. "Gross Worker Flows and Fluctuations in the Aggregate Labor Market," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 37, pages 205-226, August.
    6. Gorry, Aspen, 2013. "Minimum wages and youth unemployment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 57-75.
    7. Rogerson, Richard & Shimer, Robert, 2011. "Search in Macroeconomic Models of the Labor Market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 7, pages Pages: 61, Elsevier.
    8. Etienne Lalé & Linas Tarasonis, 2019. "The Life-cycle Profile of Worker Flows in Europe: an Empirical Investigation," Bank of Lithuania Discussion Paper Series 16, Bank of Lithuania.
    9. Ludo Visschers & Carlos Carrillo-Tudela, 2011. "Unemployment and Endogenous Reallocation over the Business Cycle," 2011 Meeting Papers 1101, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    10. Sekyu Choi & Alexandre Janiak & Benjamín Villena‐Roldán, 2015. "Unemployment, Participation and Worker Flows Over the Life‐Cycle," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(589), pages 1705-1733, December.
    11. Hairault, Jean-Olivier & Langot, Francois & Sopraseuth, Thepthida, 2019. "Unemployment fluctuations over the life cycle," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 334-352.
    12. Shibata, Ippei, 2022. "Reassessing classification errors in the analysis of labor market dynamics," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    13. Kokonas, Nikolaos & Monteiro, Paulo Santos, 2021. "Aggregation in economies with search frictions," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    14. Nikolaos Kokonas & Paulo Santos Monteiro, 2023. "Self-fulfilling labor wedge fluctuations and unemployment insurance," Discussion Papers 2313, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    15. Carlos Carrillo‐Tudela & Ludo Visschers, 2023. "Unemployment and Endogenous Reallocation Over the Business Cycle," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(3), pages 1119-1153, May.
    16. Goensch, Johannes & Gulyas, Andreas & Kospentaris, Ioannis, 2024. "Worker mobility and UI extensions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    17. Lalé, Etienne, 2024. "Assessing Labor Market Conditions in Canada with Public-Use Microdata," IZA Discussion Papers 16722, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. López-Martín Bernabé & Takayama Naoki, 2015. "The Blighted Youth: The Impact of Recessions and Policies on Life-Cycle Unemployment," Working Papers 2015-22, Banco de México.
    19. Jochen Mankart & Rigas Oikonomou, 2017. "Household Search and the Aggregate Labour Market," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 84(4), pages 1735-1788.
    20. Borowczyk-Martins, Daniel & Lalé, Etienne, 2020. "The ins and outs of involuntary part-time employment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    employment; unemployment; labor force participation; life cycle; worker flows; labor market institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16878. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.