I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For’

Evidence of Directed Search from a Field Experiment

Bibliographic Data

ID9718217
AuthorsHaoran He (0000-0002-7340-8643, Beijing Normal University), David Neumark (0000-0002-7681-1884, University of California at Irvine , USA), Qian Weng (Renmin University of China, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume133
Issue649
Pages258-280
Publication date2022-12-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Economic Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ej/ueac066
OpenAlexW4295681755
LanguageEN
References cited31

We explore the impact of wage offers on job applications, testing implications of the directed search model and trying to distinguish it from random search. We use a field experiment conducted on a Chinese job board, with real jobs for which we randomly vary the wage offers across three ranges. We find that higher wage offers raise application rates overall, which is consistent with directed search, but can also arise with random search. We also find that higher wage offers raise application rates for job seekers with wage offers above reservation wages and that—among the latter—the increase in application rates is stronger for those with higher reservation wages. The latter two types of evidence are consistent with directed search, but not random search. Hence, our evidence lends support to directed search models

Algorithm · Economics · Field (mathematics · Haven · Labour economics · Microeconomics · Political science · Random search · Reservation · Reservation wage · Search cost · Seekers · Wage · Auction Theory and Applications · Computer Science · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Mathematics · Politics, Economics, and Education Policy

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