Marginal Jobs and Job Surplus: A Test of the Efficiency of Separations

S-Tier
Journal: Review of Economic Studies
Year: 2023
Volume: 90
Issue: 3
Pages: 1265-1303

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We present a test of Coasean theories of efficient separations. We study a cohort of jobs from the introduction through the repeal of a large age- and region-specific unemployment benefit extension in Austria. In the treatment group, 18.5$\%$ fewer jobs survive the program period. According to the Coasean view, the destroyed marginal jobs had low joint surplus. Hence, after the repeal, the treatment survivors should be more resilient than the ineligible control group survivors. Strikingly, the two groups instead exhibit identical post-repeal separation behaviour. We provide, and find suggestive evidence consistent with, an alternative model in which wage rigidity drives the inefficient separation dynamics.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:restud:v:90:y:2023:i:3:p:1265-1303.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25