Tag
search_costs
9 findings
DevelopmentDigital Marketplace Intermediation LimitsAccess to regional digital marketplaces produced limited direct increases in revenue, profit, or worker income for small individual firms on the platform, while generating broader market gains for large intermediaries and regional consumers.RCTLabour & employmentDisutility of Leisure and Wage Discipline EffectMandatory participation eliminates non-market leisure time value ($h = 0.013$, equivalent to ~2% of UI benefit levels or >1% of worker productivity), disciplining worker outside options and lowering equilibrium wages by 0.03%, which encourages firms to expand overall vacancy postings by 2.4%.RCTLabour & employmentLeisure Cost Disutility in Mandatory Activation ProgramsMandatory activation reduces job application costs from $\gamma_0 = 0.202$ to $\gamma_1 = 0.114$, but completely eliminates non-market time value $h = 0.013$ per month (equivalent to 1.3% of monthly productivity or ~2% of unemployment benefits).Expert TheoryLabour & employmentLiquidity Constraints in Optimal Job SearchMedian baseline search expenditure consumed 16% of total weekly expenditures (rising to 25% for 6-day searchers); receiving transport cash subsidies induced a temporary drop in low-quality work probability as cash-constrained youth substituted short-term casual work for active central job search.RCTLabour & employmentInsignificance of Pecuniary and Time Search CostsFree callback salience increased applications by only 0.003 percentage points (1/100th of phone call treatment effect, p = 0.017). Offering text-based callback scheduling to eliminate wait time increased application probability by 0.059 percentage points, which is 1/4th the effect of proactive phone call initiation (p = 0.002).RCTLabour & employmentSpatial Search Cost FrictionsTransport subsidies increased job search probability by 12.5% and central job board visits by 9 percentage points (nearly 30%) during the intervention. At 8 months, formal employment rose by 5.4 percentage points, but all impacts on employment and earnings completely dissipated by 4 years.RCTLabour & employmentSpatial Distance Frictions in Centralized Job SearchLiving 10 km closer to the city center is associated with visiting central job boards 6.7 more times per year (0.4 SD) and submitting 1.9 more permanent job applications (0.5 SD), with active job-seekers spending a median of 16% (and up to 25%) of total weekly expenditure on search costs.Observational StudyLabour & employmentTransport Search Cost SubsidyTransit subsidies increased **active search likelihood by 12.5%** (5 percentage points, p < 0.05) and **job board visits by 30%** (9 percentage points) during intervention weeks, raising 1-year formal job rates by 5.4 percentage points (p < 0.01), but generating **no statistically significant long-term earning gains** after four years (30.9 ETB, p = 0.753).RCTLabour & employmentSpatial Search Frictions and Transport SubsidiesIn Ethiopia, transport subsidies helped youth secure higher-quality employment and reduced job seeker discouragement. In South Africa, transit subsidies to access city centers adjusted wage expectations toward realistic market rates and increased acceptance of jobs closer to home. In Jordan, direct cash transfers significantly increased job search effort, employment rates, and total earnings among refugees.RCT