How do digital platforms affect employment and job search? Evidence from India☆

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kelley, Erin M.; Ksoll, Christopher; Magruder, Jeremy
• 署名单位: The World Bank; University of Sherbrooke; University of California System; University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103176
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: job-search; Voluntary unemployment; digital platforms

摘要

We use a randomized control trial to evaluate whether digital platforms improve employment outcomes among vocational training graduates in India. We uploaded a random subset of graduates to a digital platform, and assigned some to receive many text messages about job opportunities. We find evidence of voluntary unemployment: graduates respond to platform access by increasing their reservation wages, and by working significantly less. As good job offers fail to materialize on the platform, some graduates adjust their expectations downwards and resume working. These findings suggest that youth's beliefs about the effectiveness of matching interventions may reduce their potential impacts on employment.