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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International Economic Review, 2012, Vol 53 (1), 1-21. With M. Galenianos. We study a finite directed-search wage posting game among heterogeneous firms (allowing for risk aversion, moral hazard,…), including limit theorems. Go to paper
Publications
Journal of Monetary Economics, 2008, Vol. 55, pp. 1054-1066. With M. Galenianos. We characterize price dispersion and welfare in a monetary model with private information: inflation is regressive even though the rich hold more money. 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
Publications
International Economic Review, 2011, 52(1), pp 85-104. With M. Galenianos and G. Virag. [technical appendix] In directed search with a finite population, minimum wages improve employment but reduce output and efficiency, and reverse for unemployment benefits. Go to paper
Econometrica, 2015, Vol 83 (5), 1849-1875. With K. Kim. [online appendix] We introduce cheap-talk into a market game and study if the equilibrium can replicate the constraint efficient allocation under (reserve) price posting. 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
Review of Economic Studies, 2011, Vol. 78 (3), 872-906. With Jan Eeckhout. Wage and employment data can identify the strength of sorting in search models, though two-sided fixed effects are always mis-specified. Go to paper
Publications
With Michèle Belot and Paul Muller. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2025, 17 (1): 130–170. We propose a simple method to elicit time preferences at the individual level even when income and consumption varies over time. We validate the method and apply it to correlate individuals' impatience with job search behavior and success. Go to paper