Shimer (2005a) argues that the Mortensen-Pissarides equilibrium search model of unemployment explains only about 10% of the response in the job-finding rate to an aggregate productivity shock. Some of the recent papers inspired by his critique are reviewed and commented on here. Specifically, we...

Shimer (2005a) argues that the Mortensen-Pissarides equilibrium search model of unemployment explains only about 10% of the response in the job-finding rate to an aggregate productivity shock. Some of the recent papers inspired by his critique are reviewed and commented on here. Specifically, we...

The use of fixed-term contracts has proliferated during the past decade in many European countries due to the relaxation of their regulation. Policymakers aimed to reduce labor-market rigidities by offering to firms these flexible contracts with little or no dismissal costs but with a finite...

In this Data Point we present the results of several analyses of consumers' experiences with overdrafts at a number of large banks. In many instances we break down our results by an account holder's status under Regulation E requirements (also known as “opt-in status”). This refers to the...

This Data Point provides new information about the types of changes that occur during the mortgage origination process, their size and prevalence, and when they (and other mortgage milestones) occur in the mortgage origination process. This information is taken from a dataset of disclosure forms...

Understanding the accumulation of match-specific capital is crucial in shedding light on the reasons for the prevalence of long-term employment relationships and on the welfare consequences of turnover in the labour market. One of the most important sources of match-specific capital is human...

In this paper, I extend the theoretical framework of job-to-job transitions with stochastic idiosyncratic productivity developed in Nagypal (2006) by allowing for wages to be determined through an optimal dynamic contract between a risk-averse worker and a risk-neutral employer. The contract...

The authors use establishment data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) to study the micro-level behavior of worker quits and their relation to recruitment and establishment growth. They find that quits decline with establishment growth, playing the most important role at...

This paper argues that a model of the aggregate labor market that incorporates the observed extent of job-to-job transitions can explain all the cyclical volatility in vacancy and unemployment rates in U.S. data in response to shocks of the observed magnitude. The key to this result is the...