TY - JOUR
T1 - ANONYMITY OR DISTANCE?
T2 - JOB SEARCH AND LABOUR MARKET EXCLUSION IN A GROWING AFRICAN CITY
AU - Abebe, Girum
AU - Caria, Stefano S
AU - Fafchamps, Marcel
AU - Falco, Paolo
AU - Franklin, Simon
AU - Quinn, Simon
PY - 2020/9/28
Y1 - 2020/9/28
N2 - We show that helping young job-seekers signal their skills to employers generates large and persistent improvements in their labour market outcomes. We do this by com- paring an intervention that improves the ability to signal skills (the ‘job application workshop’) to a transport subsidy treatment designed to reduce the cost of job search. In the short-run, both interventions have large positive effects on the probability of finding a formal job. The workshop also increases the probability of having a stable job with an open-ended contract. Four years later, the workshop significantly increases earnings, job satisfaction, and employment duration, but the effects of the transport subsidy have dissipated. Gains are concentrated on individuals who generally have worse labour market outcomes. Overall, our findings highlight that young people pos- sess valuable skills that are unobservable to employers. Making these skills observable generates earning gains that are far greater than the cost of the intervention.
AB - We show that helping young job-seekers signal their skills to employers generates large and persistent improvements in their labour market outcomes. We do this by com- paring an intervention that improves the ability to signal skills (the ‘job application workshop’) to a transport subsidy treatment designed to reduce the cost of job search. In the short-run, both interventions have large positive effects on the probability of finding a formal job. The workshop also increases the probability of having a stable job with an open-ended contract. Four years later, the workshop significantly increases earnings, job satisfaction, and employment duration, but the effects of the transport subsidy have dissipated. Gains are concentrated on individuals who generally have worse labour market outcomes. Overall, our findings highlight that young people pos- sess valuable skills that are unobservable to employers. Making these skills observable generates earning gains that are far greater than the cost of the intervention.
U2 - 10.1093/restud/rdaa057
DO - 10.1093/restud/rdaa057
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
JO - Review of Economic Studies
JF - Review of Economic Studies
SN - 0034-6527
M1 - rdaa057
ER -