Date:
Sun, 15/11/202016:15-17:15
Muly San
New York University
Who Works Where and Why?
Parental Networks and the Labor Market
Abstract:
Social connections are valuable for workers entering the labor market, both because they might increase the likelihood of knowing about a job opening at a specific firm and because they may increase the likelihood of being hired, conditional on knowing about an opening. Using data from Israel and relying on identifying variation from the timing of job movements of parents' coworkers, I find that workers are three to four times more likely to find employment in firms where their parents have professional connections than in otherwise similar firms. I use the same variation to structurally estimate a matching model of the labor market with search frictions, and find that connections double the probability of meeting and increase by 35% the likelihood of being hired given a meeting. The estimated value of one additional meeting with a connected firm is 3.7% of the average wage, with around 2/5 of the increase coming from the direct value of a connection. Connections matter for inequality; I find that the wage gap between Arabs and Jews decreases by 12% when equalizing the groups' connections, but increases by 56% when prohibiting the hiring of connected workers. These seemingly opposing results are explained by the fact that Arabs have connections to lower-paying firms but use their connections more extensively.
Bio:
My name is Shmuel (Muly) San, and I am a PhD Student of Economics at New York University. My research interests lie at the intersection of labor economics, innovation, and economic history. I combine reduced-form and structural approaches to study the factors of technological progress and the distribution of economic output across individuals in the economy. I received an MA in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2014 and a BA in Mathematics from Bar Ilan University in 2005.
The online meeting will be held on Sunday, November 15, 2020, 16:15-17:45
Join Zoom Meeting
https://huji.zoom.us/j/82065740148?pwd=bTdvL2JGT2dzQWgxY0NNU3ZTU0pGUT09
New York University
Who Works Where and Why?
Parental Networks and the Labor Market
Abstract:
Social connections are valuable for workers entering the labor market, both because they might increase the likelihood of knowing about a job opening at a specific firm and because they may increase the likelihood of being hired, conditional on knowing about an opening. Using data from Israel and relying on identifying variation from the timing of job movements of parents' coworkers, I find that workers are three to four times more likely to find employment in firms where their parents have professional connections than in otherwise similar firms. I use the same variation to structurally estimate a matching model of the labor market with search frictions, and find that connections double the probability of meeting and increase by 35% the likelihood of being hired given a meeting. The estimated value of one additional meeting with a connected firm is 3.7% of the average wage, with around 2/5 of the increase coming from the direct value of a connection. Connections matter for inequality; I find that the wage gap between Arabs and Jews decreases by 12% when equalizing the groups' connections, but increases by 56% when prohibiting the hiring of connected workers. These seemingly opposing results are explained by the fact that Arabs have connections to lower-paying firms but use their connections more extensively.
Bio:
My name is Shmuel (Muly) San, and I am a PhD Student of Economics at New York University. My research interests lie at the intersection of labor economics, innovation, and economic history. I combine reduced-form and structural approaches to study the factors of technological progress and the distribution of economic output across individuals in the economy. I received an MA in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2014 and a BA in Mathematics from Bar Ilan University in 2005.
The online meeting will be held on Sunday, November 15, 2020, 16:15-17:45
Join Zoom Meeting
https://huji.zoom.us/j/82065740148?pwd=bTdvL2JGT2dzQWgxY0NNU3ZTU0pGUT09