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Search Models of Unemployment

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Abstract

Unemployment, as it is conventionally defined, is a measure of full-time job search. Individuals generally have the option of allocating their time across many competing uses. It follows that an economic interpretation of unemployment data requires a theory that explains the circumstances in which people may prefer to engage in job search at the expense of other activities. Search models of unemployment are designed to do just this.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

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Andolfatto, D. (2008). Search Models of Unemployment. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2068-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2068-1

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