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

Abstract

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