Testing the Importance of Search Frictions, Matching, and Reservation Prestige through Randomized Experiments in Jordan
Unemployment rates for tertiary-educated youth in Jordan are high, as is the duration of unemployment. Two randomized experiments in Jordan were used to test different theories that may explain this phenomenon. The first experiment tested the role...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Publications & Research |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank Group, Washington, DC
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/09/20205650/testing-importance-search-frictions-matching-reservation-prestige-through-randomized-experiments-jordan http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20329 |
| Summary: | Unemployment rates for tertiary-educated
youth in Jordan are high, as is the duration of
unemployment. Two randomized experiments in Jordan were used
to test different theories that may explain this phenomenon.
The first experiment tested the role of search and matching
frictions by providing firms and job candidates with an
intensive screening and matching service based on
educational backgrounds and psychometric assessments.
Although more than 1,000 matches were made, youth rejected
the opportunity to even have an interview in 28 percent of
cases, and when a job offer was received, they rejected this
offer or quickly quit the job 83 percent of the time. A
second experiment built on the first by examining the
willingness of educated, unemployed youth to apply for jobs
of varying levels of prestige. Youth applied to only a small
proportion of the job openings they were told about, with
application rates higher for higher prestige jobs than lower
prestige jobs. Youth failed to show up for the majority of
interviews scheduled for low prestige jobs. The results
suggest that reservation prestige is an important factor
underlying the unemployment of educated Jordanian youth. |
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