A two-sector model of urban unemployment is developed which focuses on the formation of a secondary sector under conditions in which a demand shock in the primary sector leads to a sharp increase in unemployment. The optimal location in the secondary sector (treated as a single firm) is shown to...

We study labor market competition with heterogeneous firms and consumers. Worker types are continuously distributed within the population and a finite number of firms have specific skill requirements. Specific human capital investment is the cost of training a worker to be able to work for a...

We consider a continuum of unemployed workers ranked according to their unemployment duration. There are two industries, a high and a low technology one, which compete imperfectly on the labor market. Once employed, each individual must bear a training cost, which is proportional to his...