Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2500
Authors: Ren Bheim; Mark Taylor
Abstract: This Paper presents new evidence on the determinants of unemployment duration for men and women in Britain in the 1990s, using a nationally representative data set. It examines the impact of individual and local labour market characteristics on the probability of unemployment spells ending with moves into full and part-time employment, self-employment and economic inactivity. The data show that the median duration of unemployment spells among men, at 5 months, is almost double that for women, although much of this differential is explained by exits to part-time work and economic inactivity among women. Multivariate analysis suggests that policies to reduce unemployment duration and encourage full-time work, especially among men, should be targeted towards those aged 25 and over on entering unemployment and on increasing education levels. Mothers are found to have significantly lower exit rates into full-time work than both men and childless women.
Keywords: Competing Risks; Job Search; Unemployment; Unemployment Duration
JEL Codes: C33; J64
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| individual characteristics (Z13) | duration of unemployment spells (C41) |
| local labor market conditions (J29) | duration of unemployment spells (C41) |
| previous unemployment experience (J65) | likelihood of transitioning to fulltime work (J29) |
| age (J14) | likelihood of leaving unemployment for fulltime work (J63) |
| presence of a working spouse (D13) | probability of men exiting to fulltime employment (J29) |
| education (I29) | exit rate into fulltime work for men (J63) |
| dependent children (J13) | likelihood of transitioning into fulltime work for women (J29) |
| duration of unemployment (J64) | probability of leaving unemployment (J64) |