Place of Work and Place of Residence: Informal Hiring Networks and Labor Market Outcomes

We use a novel data set and identification strategy to empirically detect the presence and magnitude of local social interactions effects in the labor market. We argue that the use of informal referrals has implications for the spatial distribution of residential and work locations, that can then be used to test for the presence of such effects. Restricted access Census Bureau data for the Boston metropolitan area are usedSocial Interactions, Job Search, Geography

Locational choices and the costs of distance: empirical evidence for Dutch graduates

This study identifies and analyzes the effects of university/college graduates’ personal, household and employment characteristics as well as the attributes of their study, work and home locations on their college-to-work, college-to-residence, and commuting distances. The results illustrate that graduates are drawn to prospering regions with ample job opportunities, supposedly in order to advance their careers. They choose their places of residence so as to balance their commuting distances and the distances to their previous places of study. Residential amenities have a comparatively small effect on graduates’ locational choices, whereas they appear to value accessibility of the place of residence.distance, migration, locational choice, commuting, college-to-work, college-to-residence

A Human Capital-Based Theory of Post-Marital Residence Rules

In pre-modern societies the residence of a newly-wedded couple is often decided by custom. While researchers have analyzed factors leading to particular post-marital residence patterns, no one has explained why a society should have a customary rule in the first place. Our theory stems from contracting problems created by the nature of pre-marriage human capital investments. We argue that a fixed post-marital residence rule may solve a hold-up problem by specifying marriage terms and limiting possibilities for renegotiation; the trade-off is the rule may prohibit beneficial renegotiation of post-marital location. We compare alternative residence rules (or lack thereof) under different degrees of location specificity of human capital and environmental uncertainty. We apply our theoretical results to Murdock's (1967) 862-society data set, augmented with climate data. We find some predictive ability in variables related to outside options, control over the environment, and potential degree of social control.

Place of Work and Place of Residence: Informal Hiring Networks and Labor Market Outcomes

We use a novel dataset and research design to empirically detect the effect of social interactions among neighbors on labor market outcomes. Specifically, using Census data that characterize residential and employment locations down to the city block, we examine whether individuals residing in the same block are more likely to work together than those in nearby blocks. We find evidence of significant social interactions operating at the block level: residing on the same versus nearby blocks increases the probability of working together by over 33 percent. The results also indicate that this referral effect is stronger when individuals are similar in sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., both have children of similar ages) and when at least one individual is well attached to the labor market. These findings are robust across various specifications intended to address concerns related to sorting and reverse causation. Further, having determined the characteristics of a pair of individuals that lead to an especially strong referral effect, we provide evidence that the increased availability of neighborhood referrals has a significant impact on a wide range of labor market outcomes including employment and wages.Neighborhood Effects, Job Referrals, Social Interactions, Social Interactions, Social Networks, Labor Supply

Employment Effects of Dispersal Policies on Refugee Immigrants: Theory

This paper formulates a partial search model in which unemployed individuals simultaneously search for job and location of residence. Most importantly, we show that, ceteris paribus, a decrease in current place utility increases the transition rate into a new location of residence and the transition rate into employment outside the local labour market, but decreases the transition rate into local employment. Thus, a decrease in current place utility decreases the overall job-finding rate if the local reservation wage effect dominates. We argue that dispersal policies on refugee immigrants are characterised by low average values of current place utility. Hence, the model predicts that dispersal policies increase the geographical mobility rates of refugees and, for a sufficiently large local reservation wage effect, decrease their job-finding rates.Job Search; Residential Search; Geographical Mobility; Dispersal Policy on Refugees

Place of Work and Place of Residence: Informal Hiring Networks and Labor Market Outcomes

We use a novel research design to empirically detect the effect of social interactions among neighbors on labor market outcomes. Specifically, using Census data that characterize residential and employment locations down to the city block, we examine whether individuals residing in the same block are more likely to work together than those in nearby blocks. We find evidence of significant social interactions operating at the block level: residing on the same versus nearby blocks increases the probability of working together by over 33 percent. The results also indicate that this referral effect is stronger when individuals are similar in socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., both have children of similar ages) and when at least one individual is well attached to the labor market. These findings are robust across various specifications intended to address concerns related to sorting and reverse causation. Further, having determined the characteristics of a pair of individuals that lead to an especially strong referral effect, we provide evidence that the increased availability of neighborhood referrals has a significant impact on a wide range of labor market outcomes including labor force participation, hours and earnings.

Internal Migration. Challenges and Perspectives for the Research Infrastructure

Research on internal migration covers a wide range of issues with regard to the reasons, distance and direction of moves as well as the process of decision-making. Given the rich field of relevant research objectives and the substantial developments in migration theory it is apparent that the availability of a broad set of data including detailed information on various aspects of life is one of the key factors for ongoing progress in the analysis of internal migration development. Available official aggregated data are useful for descriptive structural analyses. But they are very limited in explaining causal relations. The same holds for cross-sectional data. Some of the described longitudinal data sets consist of retrospective collected event history data that are not suitable for collecting essential information about attitudes and psychological states of the respondents over time. Several prospective longitudinal survey data do not represent essential aspects of internal migration. Data should at least include information on the place of residence (on the smallest possible spatial level), typologies about the characteristics of the place of residence, change of residence, reasons of a move, intentions to move, the dwelling and the neighbourhood as well as on commuting.internal migration, regional migration, migration theory, official data, cross-sectional data, longitudinal data.

Ethnicity and Unemployment in Finland

This research note provides the general findings from a research project analyzing the reasons behind the lower unemployment rate of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, compared with the Finnish-speaking majority. The main conclusion is that the unemployment gap cannot be attributed to ethnic-group differences in age, education, place of residence, or industrial structure. We believe that two latent factors are highly relevant in this context: language proficiency and social integration, although no data presently available provides information about such issues

Changing the Odds: The Race for Results in Atlanta

Race has undeniably shaped the city's landscape, giving rise to two very different Atlantas that underscore the fact that the place where children grow up affects their opportunities in life. This report examines the city through its 25 neighborhood planning units (NPUs) -- the resident advisory councils that make zoning and other planning recommendations -- to explore how race and community of residence erect persistent barriers that keep kids from reaching their potential. They also keep the city from fully harnessing its economic power: Metro Atlanta's economy stands to gain an additional $78.6 million annually by promoting racial equity, according to a recent study.This report explores how race and community of residence continue to create barriers that keep the city's kids, particularly those of color, from reaching their full potential. The report highlights three key areas that support or thwart children's healthy development: (1) the community where they grow up; (2) school experiences; and (3) family access to economic opportunities. Policy recommendations are included