Search Intensity vs Search Efficiency Divergence

In Simple Words

Search intensity measures how many applications an individual submits, whereas search efficiency measures how many job offers result per application. Lowering travel costs prompts job-seekers to knock on more doors without changing their success rate, whereas providing verified skill credentials improves offer conversion per door knocked without requiring additional travel.

Research question

Active labor market policies frequently attempt to solve unemployment by encouraging job-seekers to increase search effort, failing to recognize that increasing search volume yields no return if application conversion rates remain low.

Participants

N = 3,052 young job-seekers tracked via fortnightly high-frequency phone panel surveys in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Study Design

High-frequency phone panel tracking measuring fortnightly search steps, vacancy board visits, application volume, and offer conversion rates across experimental arms.

Results

Transport subsidies increased search probability by 12.5% and vacancy board visits by 9 percentage points without altering long-term outcomes; the application workshop left search intensity unchanged but improved permanent offer conversion from 1 offer per 7.2 applications in the control group to 1 per 5.2 applications (p < 0.10).

Takeaway

Distinguish search volume metrics from application-to-offer conversion rates when evaluating whether labor market constraints stem from spatial search costs or information asymmetries.

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Plain-English glossary

Original explanations, informed by the references below. Examples are illustrations, not data from the studies above. The research text stays unchanged.

Percentage points

The difference between two percentages.

ExampleA rise from 40% to 50% is 10 percentage points. Relative to the starting value, that is a 25% increase.

Office for National Statistics · Percentages ↗Read more about percentage points →

Related findings

• Decoupling Search Intensity from Employment Outcomes →Labour & employment

  Imagine knocking on 100 doors to sell an uninspected mystery box versus knocking on 5 doors with an official quality guarantee—knocking on more doors gets you more quick glances, but having the guarantee is what actually closes the high-value sale regardless of how many doors you knock on.

• Ability-Dependent Peer Screening →Labour & employment

  Imagine trying to pick the best chess player out of a crowd. Only a master chess player has the expertise to accurately assess who among their acquaintances truly plays at an elite level, whereas a beginner cannot distinguish between a decent amateur and a grandmaster.

• Ability-Heterogeneous Wage Returns →Labour & employment

  Imagine a nightclub with a strict dress code based on exam scores where high scorers enter easily without extra effort. For high-scoring individuals, additional work experience adds little value because employers already hire them based on test scores.

• Activation Program Threat Effect →Labour & employment

  Think of a mandatory weekend study hall for students behind on homework. Many students work much harder during the week to finish their assignments on time simply to avoid having to show up for the study hall in the first place.