Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2057
Authors: Christoph M. Schmidt
Abstract: Using a retrospective monthly calendarium of individuals' major economic activities,this paper characterizes the monthly employment and unemployment rates and the monthlytransition intensities between the states of employment, unemployment, and out-of-the-labor-force for the German labor market between January/February 1983 and November/December1994. The analysis provides a detailed portrait for demographic cells defined by gender, three agegroups, and three education groups. Overall, the German labor market displays a high level ofpersistence, but important differences exist across demographic groups. By contrast, almost nochanges can be observed across time, apart from a drastic decrease of male job finding ratesduring the early 1990s. When compared to France, the German labor market does not appear tobe excessively rigid, although the differences with the fluid US labor market are very substantial.
Keywords: transitions; unemployment; duration; labour market states
JEL Codes: J21; J63; J64
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Regulatory activities (G18) | Transition rates (F16) |
| Demographic factors (age, education, gender) (J21) | Transition rates (F16) |
| Employment states persistence (J63) | Transition rates (F16) |
| Transition rates (Germany) (J69) | Transition rates (U.S.) (J62) |
| Transition rates (Germany) (J69) | Transition rates (France) (J62) |