Does Online Search Crowd Out Traditional Search and Improve Matching Efficiency? Evidence from Craigslist

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kroft, Kory; Pope, Devin G.
• 署名单位: University of Toronto; University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/673374
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 259-303
• 关键词: labor-market; unemployment; internet; VACANCIES; insurance; industry

摘要

Since the seminal work of Stigler in 1962, economists have recognized that information is costly to acquire and leads to search frictions. Growth in online search has lowered the cost of information acquisition. We analyze the expansion of the website Craigslist, which allows users to post job and housing ads. Exploiting the sharp geographic and temporal variation in the availability of online search induced by Craigslist, we produce three key findings: Craigslist significantly lowered classified job advertisements in newspapers, caused a significant reduction in the apartment and house rental vacancy rate, and had no effect on the unemployment rate.