Density, Social Networks and Job Search Methods: Theory and Application to Egypt
41 Pages Posted: 2 Sep 2003
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: Suggested Citation
Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?
Recommended Papers
-
Optimal Unemployment Insurance in Search Equilibrium
By Peter Fredriksson and Bertil Holmlund
-
A Theory of the Natural Unemployment Rate and the Duration of Employment
-
Employed and Unemployed Job Search: a Comparison of Choices and Outcomes Among Youth
-
Job Matching, Social Network and Word-of-Mouth Communication
By Antoni Calvo-armengol and Yves Zenou
-
Job Matching, Social Network and Word-of-Mouth Communication
By Antoni Calvo-armengol and Yves Zenou