It is often argued that a mandatory minimum wage is binding only if the wage density displays a spike at it. In this paper we analyze a model with wage setting, search frictions, and heterogeneous production technologies, in which imposition of a minimum wage affects wages even though, after...

We analyze the impact of unemployment benefits and minimum wages using an equilibrium search model which allows for dispersion of benefits and productivity levels, job-to-job transitions, and structural and frictional unemployment. The estimation method uses readily available aggregate data on...

We specify and estimate an equilibrium job search model with productivity differences across labor market segments. The model allows for two types of unemployment: frictional unemployment due to search frictions and structural unemployment due to wage floors. Wage floors exist because of high...

In this paper we present and estimate a synthesis of previous equilibrium search models: allowing for continuous distributions of workers opportunity costs of employment, as well as firms’ productivities. The model allows for on-the-job search, and we assume that job offer arrival rates for...

In The Netherlands, as in many countries: unemployment rates of lower educated workers are higher and more cyclical than unemployment rates of higher educated workers. In this paper we test whether this is caused by the fact that more highly educated individuals occupy simple jobs in cyclical...

In most studies on individual labor market transitions, the search process leading to job offers is a black box. In this paper we specify and estimate a search model that distinguishes between formal (applications) and informal (referrals) search methods. Job offers can be obtained by either...

Equilibrium search models are useful tools for the evaluation of labor market policies. Recently developed equilibrium search models of the labor market are able to fit the wage distribution perfectly with longitudinal labor supply data, by estimating an appropriate distribution of labor...