This paper showcases studies that illustrate the potential of analyzing online job search data and of intervening in the online job search process. It presents the current insights and some open questions and highlights conditions under which some of the recent interventions are likely to improve market outcomes overall, rather than improving only the outcomes for the treated individuals.
Job Search in the 21st Century
Journal of the European Economic Association, 2022, 20(6), 2317–2352.
This paper showcases studies that illustrate the potential of analyzing online job search data and of intervening in the online job search process, and highlights conditions under which some of the recent interventions are likely to improve market outcomes overall, rather than improving only the outcomes for the treated individuals.
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Review of Economic Studies, 2019 86(4): 1411-1447. With Michèle Belot and Paul Muller. We develop and evaluate experimentally a novel tool that redesigns the job search process by providing tailored online advice about related occupations. Go to paper
Publications
Journal of Political Economy, 2009, Vol. 117(5), pp. 861- 913. In a directed search where workers apply for multiple jobs and are then allocated via a stable matching, efficiency arises at all stages. Go to paper
Publications
Do the Long-term Unemployed Benefit from Automated Occupational Advice during Online Job Search?
with Michèle Belot and Paul Muller, Economic Journal, 2026, Vol 136, 184–206. In a randomized field experiment, we provide personalized suggestions about suitable alternative occupations to long-term unemployed job seekers in the UK. Effects on the primary pre-registered outcomes of "finding a stable job" and "reaching a cumulative earnings threshold" are positive and large (between 20% to 40% after 9 months). Go to paper
Publications
Econometrica, 2010, Vol. 78(2), 539–574. With Jan Eeckhout. In search models with price competition the sorting of heterogeneous buyers and sellers depends on complementarities both in output and in search. Go to paper
American Economic Journal - Macroeconomics, 2022, 14(4), 1-97, with Michèle Belot and Paul Muller. In a field experiment, we study how job seekers respond to posted wages by randomly assigning wages randomly to pairs of otherwise similar vacancies in a large number of professions, which generates significantly more but not exclusive interest at higher wages. Go to paper
Publications
B.E. Journals of Theoretical Economics, 2013, Vol 13 (1). With S. Ludwig and A. Sandroni. We document a revealed preference for randomization for “social goods”, while such non-standard behavior is not present for private consumption goods. Go to paper
American Economic Review P&P, 2017, 107(5): 158–162 With J. Greenwood, C. Santos & M. Tertilt. In a quantitative equilibrium model of sexual behavior and HIV/AIDS transmission we study policies that encourage long-term partnerships. Go to paper
joint with L.Brotherhood, C. Santos and M. Tertilt, accepted at Review of Economic Studies. This paper investigates the importance of the age composition for pandemic policy design in a framework with age heterogeneity, individual choice, and incomplete information, emphasizing the value of testing and testing capacity buildup. Optimal social policy follows an asymmetric approach by locking down the young relatively more than the old, and testing substantially lowers economic costs and laxer lockdown. We use the framework to provide systematic insights into pandemics caused by different viruses. Go to paper