Identification
Survey ID number
PAK_2016-2022_BRSJMP_v01_M
Title
Why Don’t Jobseekers Search More? Barriers and Returns to Search on a Job Matching Platform 2016-2022
Abbreviation or Acronym
BRSJMP 2016-22
Country/Economy
| Name |
Country code |
|
Pakistan |
PAK |
Study type
Other Household Survey [hh/oth]
Abstract
Understanding specific barriers to job search and returns to relaxing these barriers is important for economists and policymakers. An experiment that changes the default process for initiating job applications increases applications by 600% on a search platform in Pakistan.
Perhaps surprisingly, the marginal treatment-induced applications have approximately constant rather than decreasing returns. These results are consistent with a directed search model in which some jobseekers miss some high-return vacancies due to psychological costs of initiating applications. These findings show that small reductions in search costs can substantially improve search outcomes in environments with some relatively inactive jobseekers.
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
Individual