Are weak ties strong? How information on social search affects job finding.

Event Date: 12 February 2020

Speaker:  Patrick Arni, University of Bristol

Time:  4.15 pm

Location: Strathclyde Business School, Cathedral Wing CW404b

This paper assesses whether social contacts are an effective job search channel. We exposed a cohort of newly unemployed individuals in a large region of Switzerland to two different versions of a compulsory initial information session. The treated sessions informed job seekers that job search via social contacts is important and effective. Results show that the information treatment either helped women find jobs faster, or kept them looking for jobs actively longer. By means of survey and register data and a stylized model framework we explore the channels through which the information on social search have

affected female search behavior and search efficiency. Results show that women substituted effort towards more social search and consequently increased their search efficiency and the stability of found jobs. We find no effects for men. Social search can be more effective than other search channels, but not universally so.

Published: 6 February 2020