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Social and spatial networks in labour markets

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  • Giorgio Topa

Abstract

Social connections and referrals are ubiquitous in the labour market, both on the job-seeker side and on the employer side. This article reviews recent developments in the study of referrals, highlighting what we have learned regarding the use and impact of referrals on various labour market outcomes and pointing out the increasingly nuanced picture we are gaining on the effects of referrals. It then discusses directions for future research, emphasizing the importance of using newly available data (and combinations of datasets) and of making tighter connections with the burgeoning macro-labour research that is based on a search and matching framework. Finally, it evaluates the role of referrals from the point of view of policy-makers, discussing their social welfare implications and ways in which they could be explicitly incorporated into various labour market policies. The importance of tighter collaboration between policy-makers, researchers, employers and practitioners is stressed, to conduct more rigorous experimentation and evaluation of potential referral-based policies and programmes.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgio Topa, 2019. "Social and spatial networks in labour markets," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 35(4), pages 722-745.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxford:v:35:y:2019:i:4:p:722-745.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oxrep/grz019
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    Cited by:

    1. Osman, Adam & Speer, Jamin D. & Weaver, Andrew, 2022. "Connections, Referrals, and Hiring Outcomes: Evidence from an Egyptian Establishment Survey," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 342-355.
    2. Andrea Morescalchi, 2021. "A new career in a new town. Job search methods and regional mobility of unemployed workers," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 20(2), pages 223-272, May.
    3. Horváth, Gergely, 2023. "Peer effects through receiving advice in job search: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 494-519.
    4. Engdahl, Mattias & Willis, Sébastien & Åslund, Olof, 2024. "Professional networks and the labour market assimilation of immigrants," Working Paper Series 2024:9, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    5. Philippe Askenazy & Verónica Escudero, 2022. "Dimension géographique des inégalités d’accès à l’emploi," Post-Print halshs-03801734, HAL.

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