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Ethnic unemployment rates and frictional markets

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  • Gobillon, Laurent
  • Rupert, Peter
  • Wasmer, Etienne

Abstract

The unemployment rate in France is roughly 6 percentage points higher for African immigrants than for natives. In the US the unemployment rate is approximately 9 percentage points higher for blacks than for whites. Commute time data indicates that minorities face longer commute times to work, potentially reflecting more difficult access to jobs. In this paper we investigate the impact of spatial mismatch on the unemployment rate of ethnic groups using the matching model proposed by Rupert and Wasmer (2012). We find that spatial factors explain 1–1.5 percentage points of the unemployment rate gap in both France and the US, amounting to 17–25% of the relative gap in France and about 10–17.5% in the US. Among these factors, differences in commuting distance play the most important role. In France, though, longer commuting distances may be mitigated by higher mobility in the housing market for African workers. Overall, we still conclude that labor market factors remain the main explanation for the higher unemployment rate of Africans.

Suggested Citation

  • Gobillon, Laurent & Rupert, Peter & Wasmer, Etienne, 2014. "Ethnic unemployment rates and frictional markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 108-120.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:79:y:2014:i:c:p:108-120
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2013.06.001
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    1. Ethnic ghettos and unemployment
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2013-08-23 19:52:00

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Local markets; Matching model; Ethnic groups; Discrimination; Spatial Mismatch;
    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
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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