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Working Paper
The Role of Observed and Unobserved Heterogeneity in the Duration of Unemployment Spells
This paper studies the degree to which observable and unobservable worker characteristics account for the variation in the aggregate duration of unemployment. I model the distribution of unobserved worker heterogeneity as time varying to capture the interaction of latent attributes with changes in labor-market conditions. Unobserved heterogeneity is the main explanation for the duration dependence of unemployment hazards. Both cyclical and low-frequency variations in the mean duration of unemployment are mainly driven by one subgroup: workers who, for unobserved reasons, stay unemployed for a ...
Working Paper
United States of U-Star
This paper estimates state-level trend unemployment rates (trend U-star) based on the trend components of unemployment inflows and outflows across unemployment durations. The estimated trend U-stars, particularly the portions attributable to long-termunemployment, have levels and dynamics that vary substantially across states. Long-termunemployment makes a relatively small contribution to trend U-star in agricultural states, but takes a larger share for Rust Belt states and several states in the Sun Belt. While higher educational attainment and population aging put downward pressure on ...