IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/109691.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Effect of Search Effort on the transition from Unemployment to Work: Evidence from a Cross Section of Ghanaian Formal Sector Workers

Author

Listed:
  • Opoku Nyarko, Christopher
  • Baah-Boateng, William
  • Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward

Abstract

While the role of search effort in the transition from unemployment to employment is not contentious, there is paucity of empirical evidence on the nexus between search effort and the duration of unemployment, especially in developing countries. Hence, this paper focuses on the time period in which the individual exits unemployment, using search intensity as a key explanatory variable. Data for the study is sourced from a survey of 404 formal sector workers in Accra who secured their first employment from 2005 and 2012. We disaggregated the transition period into three intervals namely; less than 1 month, between 1 and 12 months and more than 12 months, in order to achieve this objective. Using the multinomial logistic regression, we found that the use of multiple methods (search intensity) in the search process has a highly significant (p

Suggested Citation

  • Opoku Nyarko, Christopher & Baah-Boateng, William & Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward, 2014. "The Effect of Search Effort on the transition from Unemployment to Work: Evidence from a Cross Section of Ghanaian Formal Sector Workers," MPRA Paper 109691, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:109691
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/109691/1/MPRA_paper_109691.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gerard J. van den Berg & Bas van der Klaauw, 2006. "Counseling And Monitoring Of Unemployed Workers: Theory And Evidence From A Controlled Social Experiment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(3), pages 895-936, August.
    2. Alan B. Krueger & Andreas Mueller, 2008. "Job Search and Unemployment Insurance: New Evidence from Time Use Data," Working Papers 1070, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    3. Nagler P., 2013. "How unemployment insurance savings accounts affect employment duration : evidence from Chile," MERIT Working Papers 2013-039, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Hans G. Bloemen, 2005. "Job Search, Search Intensity, and Labor Market Transitions: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    5. Aurora Galego & António Caleiro, 2009. "Understanding the Transition to Work for First Degree University Graduates in Portugal: The case of the University of Évora," Economics Working Papers 06_2009, University of Évora, Department of Economics (Portugal).
    6. Aysit TANSEL & H. Mehmet TASCI, "undated". "Determinants of Unemployment Duration for Men and Women in Turkey," Middle East and North Africa 330400055, EcoMod.
    7. Hausman, Jerry & McFadden, Daniel, 1984. "Specification Tests for the Multinomial Logit Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(5), pages 1219-1240, September.
    8. Blau, David M & Robins, Philip K, 1990. "Job Search Outcomes for the Employed and Unemployed," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(3), pages 637-655, June.
    9. Fougère, Denis & Pradel, Jacqueline & Roger, Muriel, 2005. "Does Job-Search Assistance Affect Search Effort and Outcomes? A Microeconometric Analysis of Public versus Private Search Methods," IZA Discussion Papers 1825, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Try, Sverre, 2005. "The use of job search strategies among university graduates," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 223-243, March.
    11. Jesse Rothstein, 2011. "Unemployment Insurance and Job Search in the Great Recession," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 42(2 (Fall)), pages 143-213.
    12. Peter Jensen & Niels C. Westergård-Nielsen, 1987. "A Search Model Applied to the Transition from Education to Work," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 54(3), pages 461-472.
    13. Milan Vodopivec, 2013. "Introducing unemployment insurance to developing countries," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-23, December.
    14. William Baah-Boateng, 2013. "Determinants of Unemployment in Ghana," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 25(4), pages 385-399.
    15. Paula Nagler, 2013. "How unemployment insurance savings accounts affect employment duration: evidence from Chile," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-25, December.
    16. Seife Dendir, 2006. "Unemployment duration in poor developing economies: evidence from urban Ethiopia," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 40(1), pages 181-201, September.
    17. Gérard Lassibille & Isabel Aguilar Ramos & María Lucía Navarro Gómez & Carolina de La O Sanchez, 2001. "Youth Transition from School to Work in Spain," Post-Print halshs-01266336, HAL.
    18. Lassibille, Gerard & Navarro Gomez, Lucia & Aguilar Ramos, Isabel & de la O Sanchez, Carolina, 2001. "Youth transition from school to work in Spain," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 139-149, April.
    19. Arulampalam, Wiji, 2001. "Is Unemployment Really Scarring? Effects of Unemployment Experiences on Wages," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(475), pages 585-606, November.
    20. Kupets, Olga, 2006. "Determinants of unemployment duration in Ukraine," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 228-247, June.
    21. Hock-Eam Lim, 2011. "The Determinants Of Individual Unemployment Duration: The Case Of Malaysian Graduates," Journal of Global Management, Global Research Agency, vol. 2(2), pages 184-203, July.
    22. Richardson, Katarina & van den Berg, Gerard J., 2002. "The effect of vocational employment training on the individual transition rate from unemployment to work," Working Paper Series 2002:8, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    23. Osberg, Lars, 1993. "Fishing in Different Pools: Job Search Strategies and Job-Finding Success in Canada in the Early 1980s," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(2), pages 348-386, April.
    24. Saleh Alkafri, 2011. "Transition from High Education to the Labour Market: Unemployment within Graduates from the Gender Prospective In the Palestinian Territory," Working Papers 30, AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium.
    25. Harry Sackey & Barfour Osei, 2006. "Human Resource Underutilization in an Era of Poverty Reduction: An Analysis of Unemployment and Underemployment in Ghana," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 18(2), pages 221-247.
    26. Krueger, Alan B. & Mueller, Andreas, 2010. "Job search and unemployment insurance: New evidence from time use data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(3-4), pages 298-307, April.
    27. Lalive, Rafael, 2008. "How do extended benefits affect unemployment duration A regression discontinuity approach," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 785-806, February.
    28. Krueger, Alan B. & Mueller, Andreas, 2010. "Job search and unemployment insurance: New evidence from time use data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(3-4), pages 298-307, April.
    29. Kettunen, Juha, 1997. "Education and unemployment duration," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 163-170, April.
    30. repec:pri:cepsud:175krueger is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Melanie Arntz & Ralf Wilke, 2009. "Unemployment Duration in Germany: Individual and Regional Determinants of Local Job Finding, Migration and Subsidized Employment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 43-61.
    32. Bruce D. Meyer, 1995. "Lessons from the U.S. Unemployment Insurance Experiments," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(1), pages 91-131, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ramona – Diana LEON & Liana Maria MARCU, 2016. "Social Media Platforms as a Tool for Sharing Emotions. A Perspective upon the National Security Agencies," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 4(1), pages 141-152, March.

    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. Fougère, Denis & Pradel, Jacqueline & Roger, Muriel, 2009. "Does the public employment service affect search effort and outcomes?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(7), pages 846-869, October.
    2. van der Klaauw, Bas & van Vuuren, Aico, 2010. "Job search and academic achievement," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 294-316, February.
    3. Aysit Tansel & H. Mehmet Taşçı, 2010. "Hazard Analysis of Unemployment Duration by Gender in a Developing Country: The Case of Turkey," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 24(4), pages 501-530, December.
    4. Mesén Vargas, Juliana & Van der Linden, Bruno, 2017. "Is There Always a Trade-off between Insurance and Incentives? The Case of Unemployment with Subsistence Constraints," IZA Discussion Papers 11034, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Andrea Weber & Helmut Mahringer, 2008. "Choice and success of job search methods," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 153-178, August.
    6. Christopher Opoku Nyarko & William Baah-Boateng & Edward Nketiah-Amponsah, 2014. "Determinants of Job Search Intensity in Ghana," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 8(2), pages 193-211, May.
    7. Petrongolo, Barbara, 2009. "The long-term effects of job search requirements: Evidence from the UK JSA reform," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(11-12), pages 1234-1253, December.
    8. van Huizen, Thomas & Alessie, Rob, 2015. "Time preferences and career investments," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 77-92.
    9. Rainer Eppel & Helmut Mahringer & Andrea Weber, 2014. "Job Search Behaviour and Job Search Success of the Unemployed," WIFO Working Papers 471, WIFO.
    10. Ronald Bachmann & Daniel Baumgarten, 2013. "How do the unemployed search for a job? – Evidence from the EU Labour Force Survey," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-25, December.
    11. Bart Cockx & Muriel Dejemeppe & Andrey Launov & Bruno Van der Linden, 2018. "Imperfect Monitoring of Job Search: Structural Estimation and Policy Design," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 75-120.
    12. Manning, Alan, 2009. "You can't always get what you want: The impact of the UK Jobseeker's Allowance," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 239-250, June.
    13. Abbritti, Mirko & Weber, Sebastian, 2010. "Labor market institutions and the business cycle - unemployment rigidities vs. real wage rigidities," Working Paper Series 1183, European Central Bank.
    14. Graversen, B.K. & van Ours, J.C., 2006. "How to Help Unemployed Find Jobs Quickly : Experimental Evidence from a Mandatory Activation Program," Other publications TiSEM 4762e132-4660-4c32-8813-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    15. Manning, Alan, 2011. "Imperfect Competition in the Labor Market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 11, pages 973-1041, Elsevier.
    16. Rosholm, Michael, 2008. "Experimental Evidence on the Nature of the Danish Employment Miracle," Working Papers 08-14, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    17. Konstantinos Tatsiramos & Jan C. Ours, 2014. "Labor Market Effects Of Unemployment Insurance Design," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 284-311, April.
    18. Ronald Wolthoff, 2010. "Applications and Interviews: A Structural Analysis of Two-Sided Simultaneous Search," 2010 Meeting Papers 114, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    19. Gerard J. van den Berg & Bas van der Klaauw, 2019. "Structural Empirical Evaluation Of Job Search Monitoring," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 60(2), pages 879-903, May.
    20. Vargas Juliana Mesén & Linden Bruno Van der, 2019. "Why Cash Transfer Programs Can Both Stimulate and Slow Down Job Finding," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-27, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    job search; intensity; duration; multinomial logistic regression; unemployment; Ghana;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

    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:pra:mprapa:109691. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.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.