IMF Working Papers

Are the Unemployed Unemployable?

By Gilles Saint-Paul

June 1, 1994

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Gilles Saint-Paul. Are the Unemployed Unemployable?, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 1994) accessed November 21, 2024
Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

This paper develops a matching model of the labor market under wage rigidity when hiring decisions are irreversible. There are two types of workers, the skilled and the unskilled. The model is used to analyze whether technological advances may have increased unemployment. It is shown that it is likely to be so if they are associated with an increase in the productivity and/or the supply of skilled workers relative to unskilled workers. These effects are stronger when hiring decisions are more irreversible.

Subject: Labor force, Labor markets, Unemployment, Unemployment rate, Unskilled labor

Keywords: WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    24

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 1994/064

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA0641994

  • ISBN:

    9781451848496

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941