Looking into the Black Box: A Survey of the Matching Function

Posted: 27 Apr 2000

See all articles by Barbara Petrongolo

Barbara Petrongolo

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Christopher A. Pissarides

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 2000

Abstract

We survey the microfoundations, empirical evidence and estimation issues underlying the aggregate matching function. Several microeconomic matching mechanisms have been suggested in the literature with some successes but none is generally accepted as superior to all others. Instead, an aggregate matching function with hires as a function of vacancies and unemployment has been successfully estimated for several countries. The Cobb-Douglas restrictions with constant returns to scale perform well. Recent work has utilized disaggregated data to go beyond aggregate estimates, with many refinements and suggestions for future research.

JEL Classification: E21, J60, J63, J64

Suggested Citation

Petrongolo, Barbara and Pissarides, Christopher, Looking into the Black Box: A Survey of the Matching Function (March 2000). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=224328

Barbara Petrongolo (Contact Author)

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
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+44 20 7955 7799 (Phone)
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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
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Christopher Pissarides

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
+44 20 7955 7513 (Phone)
+44 20 7831 1840 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) ( email )

Clearwater Bay
Kowloon, 999999
Hong Kong

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