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Why are Higher Skilled Workers More Mobile Geographically? The Role of the Job Surplus

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  • Michael Amior

Abstract

The skill gap in geographical mobility is entirely driven by workers who report moving for a new job. A natural explanation lies in the large expected surplus accruing to skilled job matches. Just as large surpluses ease the frictions which impede job search in general, they also help overcome those frictions (specifically moving costs) which plague cross-city matching in particular. I reject the alternative hypothesis that mobility differences are driven by variation in the moving costs themselves, based on PSID evidence on self-reported willingness to move. Evidence on wage processes also supports my claims.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Amior, 2015. "Why are Higher Skilled Workers More Mobile Geographically? The Role of the Job Surplus," CEP Discussion Papers dp1338, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1338
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    Cited by:

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    2. Christian Dustmann & Uta Schönberg & Jan Stuhler, 2017. "Labor Supply Shocks, Native Wages, and the Adjustment of Local Employment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(1), pages 435-483.
    3. Shiri M. Breznitz & Qiantao Zhang, 2020. "Determinants of graduates’ entrepreneurial activity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 1039-1056, December.
    4. Michael Amior & Alan Manning, 2018. "The Persistence of Local Joblessness," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(7), pages 1942-1970, July.
    5. Emmler, Julian & Fitzenberger, Bernd, 2020. "The role of unemployment and job change when estimating the returns to migration," IAB-Discussion Paper 202037, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    6. Robbie Maris & Michael P Cameron, 2022. "The Price of Pet Ownership: Reduced Labour Mobility?," Working Papers in Economics 22/03, University of Waikato.
    7. Parkhomenko, Andrii, 2016. "Opportunity to Move: Macroeconomic Effects of Relocation Subsidies," MPRA Paper 75256, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Michael Amior, 2024. "Education and Geographical Mobility: The Role of the Job Surplus," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 341-381, November.
    9. Shiri M. Breznitz & Qiantao Zhang, 0. "Determinants of graduates’ entrepreneurial activity," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-18.
    10. Emmler, Julian & Fitzenberger, Bernd, 2020. "The Role of Unemployment and Job Change When Estimating the Returns to Migration," IZA Discussion Papers 13740, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Qiantao A. Zhang & Brian M. Lucey, 2019. "Globalisation, the Mobility of Skilled Workers, and Economic Growth: Constructing a Novel Brain Drain/Gain Index for European Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(4), pages 1620-1642, December.
    12. Sandher, Jeevun, 2022. "Familiar Faces, Worn Out Places: The Effect of Personal and Place Prosperity On Well-Being," SocArXiv am6gq, Center for Open Science.
    13. Robbie Maris & Michael P. Cameron, 2023. "The labour market trade-offs of pet ownership," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 75-84.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internal migration; job search; education; skills;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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