[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/erg/wpaper/753.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Structural Labor Market Transitions and Wage Dispersion in Egypt and Jordan

Author

Listed:
  • Shaimaa Yassin

    (University of Paris1 Pantheon-Sorbonne (CES) & Paris School of Economics (PSE))

Abstract
In this paper we determine the feasibility of using data from the Egyptian Labor Market Panel Survey of 2006 and the Jordanian Labor Market Panel Survey of 2010 (ELMPS06 JLMPS10) to estimate the Burdett-Mortensen job search model. The data contains sufficient information on wages, labor force states, durations, and transitions to generate estimates of the model’s structural transition parameters which eventually enable us to explain the persistent high unemployment rates in the region. By extracting different 10-year employment panels for Egypt and Jordan from the available cross-sectional datasets, results indicate that arrival rates of offers for workers are generally higher when unemployed than when employed. When a worker is already employed, the arrival rates of offers for highly educated workers tend to be higher than their uneducated peers. We therefore find that they consequently move faster up the job ladder. Both countries have extremely low job destruction rates. When comparing the two MENA countries, Egypt’s labor market tends to be much more rigid than its Jordanian peer, where extremely higher search frictions force labor market entrants and on-search workers to accept what they are offered. We therefore observe a peculiar high monopsonistic power exerted by the employers. Although, we were able to calculate a firm-specific productivity distribution, we choose to focus on the supply side of the equilibrium job search model. We therefore study labor market differentials across the different educational groups in Egypt and Jordan, showing that the wide variation in frictional transition parameters across these groups helps to explain persistent unemployment and wage differentials especially among the very high-educated youth. Fit analysis tests and policy implications are performed based on the obtained results. The paper is a preliminary endeavor to explore the dynamics of the MENA region’s labor markets (particularly Egypt and Jordan) and test for their extent of rigidity.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaimaa Yassin, 2013. "Structural Labor Market Transitions and Wage Dispersion in Egypt and Jordan," Working Papers 753, Economic Research Forum, revised May 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:753
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://erf.org.eg/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/753.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://bit.ly/2mXrVS4
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Audra J. Bowlus & Zvi Eckstein, 2002. "Discrimination and Skill Differences in an Equilibrium Search Model," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 43(4), pages 1309-1345, November.
    2. Mortensen, Dale & Pissarides, Christopher, 2011. "Job Creation and Job Destruction in the Theory of Unemployment," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 1, pages 1-19.
    3. Bowlus, Audra J & Kiefer, Nicholas M & Neumann, George R, 1995. "Estimation of Equilibrium Wage Distributions with Heterogeneity," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(S), pages 119-131, Suppl. De.
    4. van den Berg, Gerard J, 1999. "Empirical Inference with Equilibrium Search Models of the Labour Market," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(456), pages 283-306, June.
    5. Bontemps, Christian & Robin, Jean-Marc & van den Berg, Gerard J, 2000. "Equilibrium Search with Continuous Productivity Dispersion: Theory and Nonparametric Estimation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 41(2), pages 305-358, May.
    6. Dale T. Mortensen, 1982. "The Matching Process as a Noncooperative Bargaining Game," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Information and Uncertainty, pages 233-258, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Eckstein, Zvi & van den Berg, Gerard J., 2007. "Empirical labor search: A survey," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(2), pages 531-564, February.
    8. Ken Binmore & Ariel Rubinstein & Asher Wolinsky, 1986. "The Nash Bargaining Solution in Economic Modelling," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(2), pages 176-188, Summer.
    9. Bowlus, Audra J, 1997. "A Search Interpretation of Male-Female Wage Differentials," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(4), pages 625-657, October.
    10. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/c8dmi8nm4pdjkuc9g8grh35j2 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Fabien Postel-Vinay & Jean-Marc Robin, 2002. "Equilibrium Wage Dispersion with Worker and Employer Heterogeneity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(6), pages 2295-2350, November.
    12. Gregory Jolivet & Fabien Postel-Vinay & Jean-Marc Robin, 2006. "The Empirical Content of the Job Search Model: Labor Mobility and Wage Distributions in Europe and the U.S.$," Contributions to Economic Analysis, in: Structural Models of Wage and Employment Dynamics, pages 269-308, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    13. John M. Abowd & Francis Kramarz & David N. Margolis, 1999. "High Wage Workers and High Wage Firms," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(2), pages 251-334, March.
    14. Bent Jesper Christensen & Rasmus Lentz & Dale T. Mortensen & George R. Neumann & Axel Werwatz, 2005. "On-the-Job Search and the Wage Distribution," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(1), pages 31-58, January.
    15. Fabien Postel-Vinay & Jean-Marc Robin, 2002. "Equilibrium Wage Dispersion with Worker and Employer Heterogeneity," Post-Print hal-03458567, HAL.
    16. Bowlus, Audra J & Kiefer, Nicholas M & Neumann, George R, 2001. "Equilibrium Search Models and the Transition from School to Work," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 42(2), pages 317-343, May.
    17. Dale T. Mortensen, 2005. "Wage Dispersion: Why Are Similar Workers Paid Differently?," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262633191, April.
    18. Bontemps, Christian & Robin, Jean-Marc & Van den Berg, Gerard J, 1999. "An Empirical Equilibrium Job Search Model with Search on the Job and Heterogeneous Workers and Firms," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1039-1074, November.
    19. Gerard J. van den Berg & Geert Ridder, 1998. "An Empirical Equilibrium Search Model of the Labor Market," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 66(5), pages 1183-1222, September.
    20. Berg, G.J. & Ridder, G., 1993. "Estimating an equilibrium search model from wage data," Serie Research Memoranda 0040, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    21. Peter A. Diamond, 1982. "Wage Determination and Efficiency in Search Equilibrium," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 49(2), pages 217-227.
    22. Burdett, Kenneth & Mortensen, Dale T, 1998. "Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(2), pages 257-273, May.
    23. Albrecht, James W & Axell, Bo, 1984. "An Equilibrium Model of Search Unemployment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 92(5), pages 824-840, October.
    24. Mortensen, Dale T. & Pissarides, Christopher A., 1999. "New developments in models of search in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 39, pages 2567-2627, Elsevier.
    25. Geert Ridder & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2003. "Measuring Labor Market Frictions: A Cross-Country Comparison," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 224-244, March.
    26. Christopher A. Pissarides, 1985. "Taxes, Subsidies and Equilibrium Unemployment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(1), pages 121-133.
    27. Pissarides, Christopher A, 1985. "Short-run Equilibrium Dynamics of Unemployment Vacancies, and Real Wages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 676-690, September.
    28. Giovanni Sulis, 2008. "Wage Dispersion and Equilibrium Search Models: Some Evidence from Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(4), pages 593-627, December.
    29. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/dc0ckec3fcb29ms985085gkbp is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fallah, Belal & Krafft, Caroline & Wahba, Jackline, 2019. "The impact of refugees on employment and wages in Jordan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 203-216.
    2. Ragui Assaad & Rana Hendy & Moundir Lassassi & Shaimaa Yassin, 2020. "Explaining the MENA paradox: Rising educational attainment yet stagnant female labor force participation," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 43(28), pages 817-850.
    3. François Langot & Shaimaa Yassin, 2015. "Reforming Employment Protection in Egypt: An Evaluation Based on Transition Models with Measurement Errors," Working Papers 918, Economic Research Forum, revised Jun 2015.
    4. Caroline Krafft & Ragui Assaad, 2018. "Do More Productive Firms Pay Workers More? Evidence from Egypt," Working Papers 1222, Economic Research Forum, revised 18 Sep 2018.
    5. Hanan Morsy & Antoine Levy, 2020. "Growing without changing: A tale of Egypt's weak productivity growth," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 271-287, September.
    6. Shaimaa Yassin, 2014. "Job Accession, Separation and Mobility in the Egyptian Labor Market Over the Past Decade," Working Papers 881, Economic Research Forum, revised Nov 2014.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giovanni Sulis, 2008. "Wage Dispersion and Equilibrium Search Models: Some Evidence from Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(4), pages 593-627, December.
    2. Giovanni Sulis, 2012. "Gender wage differentials in Italy: a structural estimation approach," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(1), pages 53-87, January.
    3. Tomi Kyyrä, 2007. "Estimating Equilibrium Search Models from Finnish Data," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 20(2), pages 139-165, Autumn.
    4. Andreas Hornstein & Per Krusell & Giovanni L. Violante, 2011. "Frictional Wage Dispersion in Search Models: A Quantitative Assessment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 2873-2898, December.
    5. Violante, Giovanni & Hornstein, Andreas, 2006. "Frictional Wage Dispersion in Search Models: A Quantitative Approach," CEPR Discussion Papers 5935, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. van den Berg, Gerard J. & van Vuuren, Aico, 2010. "The effect of search frictions on wages," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 875-885, December.
    7. Gerard J. van den Berg, 2003. "Multiple Equilibria and Minimum Wages in Labor Markets with Informational Frictions and Heterogeneous Production Technologies," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 44(4), pages 1337-1357, November.
    8. Niklas Engbom & Christian Moser, 2022. "Earnings Inequality and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(12), pages 3803-3847, December.
    9. Chéron, Arnaud & Hairault, Jean-Olivier & Langot, François, 2008. "A quantitative evaluation of payroll tax subsidies for low-wage workers: An equilibrium search approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3-4), pages 817-843, April.
    10. Eckstein, Zwi & van den Berg, Gerard J, 2003. "Empircial labor search models: A survey," Working Paper Series 2003:18, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    11. Eckstein, Zvi & van den Berg, Gerard J., 2007. "Empirical labor search: A survey," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(2), pages 531-564, February.
    12. J. Ignacio Garcia-Perez, 2002. "Equilibrium search models: the role of the assumptions," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 26(2), pages 255-284, May.
    13. Fabien Postel-Vinay & Jean-Marc Robin, 2002. "Equilibrium Wage Dispersion with Worker and Employer Heterogeneity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 70(6), pages 2295-2350, November.
    14. Ambra Poggi, 2013. "Labor mobility network and intra firm wage dispersion," LABORatorio R. Revelli Working Papers Series 133, LABORatorio R. Revelli, Centre for Employment Studies.
    15. Morchio, Iacopo & Moser, Christian, 2018. "The Gender Pay Gap: Micro Sources and Macro Consequences," MPRA Paper 99276, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Mar 2020.
    16. Andrey Launov & Christian Holzner, 2005. "Search Equilibrium, Production Parameters and Social Returns to Education: Theory and Estimation," 2005 Meeting Papers 604, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    17. Naoki Aizawa & Hanming Fang, 2020. "Equilibrium Labor Market Search and Health Insurance Reform," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(11), pages 4258-4336.
    18. Barlevy, Gadi & Nagaraja, H. N., 2006. "Identification of Search Models with Initial Condition Problems," IZA Discussion Papers 2061, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Holzner, Christian & Launov, Andrey, 2010. "Search equilibrium and social and private returns to education," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 39-59, January.
    20. Jesper Bagger & Morten Henningsen, 2008. "Job Durations and the Job Search Model: A Two-Country, Multi-Sample Analysis," Discussion Papers 553, Statistics Norway, Research Department.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:erg:wpaper:753. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sherine Ghoneim (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/erfaceg.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.