Density, Social Networks and Job Search Methods: Theory and Application to Egypt

41 Pages Posted: 2 Sep 2003

See all articles by Jackline Wahba

Jackline Wahba

University of Southampton, Department of Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Yves Zenou

Stockholm University; Monash University - Department of Economics; Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IUI); IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Date Written: July 2003

Abstract

The aim of this Paper is to study the impact of the size and the quality of social networks on the probability of finding a job. We first develop a theoretical model in which individuals are embedded within a network of social relationships. Workers can obtain information about jobs either directly, or indirectly, via an employed friend belonging to their social network. We show that, conditional on being employed, the probability of finding a job through social networks - relative to other search methods - increases and is concave with the size of the network. There is, however, a critical size of the network above which this probability decreases. We also show that the probability of finding a job through friends and relatives decreases with the local unemployment rate. We test empirically these theoretical findings for Egypt using the 1998 Labor Market Survey. The empirical evidence supports the predictions of our theoretical model.

Keywords: Weak ties, density, search methods, networks

JEL Classification: J23, O12

Suggested Citation

Wahba, Jackline and Zenou, Yves and Zenou, Yves, Density, Social Networks and Job Search Methods: Theory and Application to Egypt (July 2003). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=439521

Jackline Wahba

University of Southampton, Department of Economics ( email )

Southampton, SO171BJ
United Kingdom
+44 23 8059 3996 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/jackiewahba/

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Yves Zenou (Contact Author)

Monash University - Department of Economics ( email )

Australia

Stockholm University ( email )

Universitetsvägen 10
Stockholm, Stockholm SE-106 91
Sweden

Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IUI) ( email )

P.O. Box 5501
S-114 85 Stockholm
Sweden

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

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