That the long-term unemployed fare worse in the labor market than do the short-term unemployed is well-known, but why? One potential explanation is that the long-term unemployed are “bad apples” who had poorer prospects from the outset of their spells (heterogeneity). Another is that these bad outcomes are a consequence of their extended unemployment (state dependence). The authors use Current Population Survey data on unemployed individuals linked to unemployment insurance wage records for the same people to distinguish between these explanations. The rich work history information contained in the wage records allows the authors to control for individual heterogeneity that could affect post-unemployment labor market outcomes. Even with these controls in place, they find that unemployment duration has a strongly negative effect on the likelihood of subsequent employment. The results are robust to accounting for differences in the labor market conditions experienced by the long-term and short-term unemployed.
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