CULTURE, WORK ATTITUDES, AND JOB SEARCH: EVIDENCE FROM THE SWISS LANGUAGE BORDER

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Eugster, Beatrix; Lalive, Rafael; Steinhauer, Andreas; Zweimuller, Josef
• 署名单位: University of St Gallen; University of Lausanne; University of Edinburgh; University of Zurich
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1093/jeea/jvw024
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 1056-1100
• 关键词: unemployment compensation; social insurance; duration; preferences; NORMS; transmission; institutions; fertility; ECONOMICS; DYNAMICS

摘要

Unemployment varies across space and in time. Can attitudes toward work explain some of these differences? We study job search durations along the Swiss language border, sharply separating Romance language speakers from German speakers. According to surveys and voting results, the language border separates two social groups with different cultural background and attitudes toward work. Despite similar local labor markets and identical institutions, Romance language speakers search for work almost seven weeks (or 22%) longer than their German speaking neighbors. This is a quantitatively large effect, comparable to a large change in unemployment insurance generosity.