Boarding a Sinking Ship? An Investigation of Job Applications to Distressed Firms

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Brown, Jennifer; Matsa, David A.
• 署名单位: Northwestern University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF FINANCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-1082
• DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12367
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 507-550
• 关键词: CREDIT DEFAULT SWAP; capital structure; unemployment-insurance; product quality; wage dispersion; MARKET; RISK; bankruptcy; IMPACT; LABOR

摘要

We use novel data from a leading online job search platform to examine the impact of corporate distress on firms' ability to attract job applicants. Survey responses suggest that job seekers accurately perceive firms' financial condition, as measured by companies' credit default swap prices and accounting data. Analyzing responses to job postings by major financial firms during the Great Recession, we find that an increase in an employer's distress results in fewer and lower quality applicants. These effects are particularly evident when the social safety net provides workers with weak protection against unemployment and for positions requiring a college education.