Working Papers in Economics,
University of Bergen, Department of Economics

Abstract: In this paper we investigate the incentives of unemployed workers to wait for a recall when recall probabilities are endogenously determined by the waiting decisions of others. Because of a positive externality that arise when workers seek new employment, an excessive number of workers choose to wait for a recall, and structural adjustment is slow. We also find that a small reduction in the unemployment benefits, or introducing a small cash bonus for workers that get a new job, may have no effect on unemployment in some cases, while eradicating significant levels of unemployment in other cases. Our analysis suggests that the government my face a Samaritan’s Dilemma if it can influence the recall probability of workers, and that multiple equilibria may exist in a game involving both workers and an unemployment-averse government. Furthermore, we explore a link to the war of attrition literature, showing that the Bulow and Klemperer (1999) ”one too many”-result may not hold if there is uncertainty concerning when the game ends.

Keywords: Structural adjustment; unemployment; recalls; search; war of attrition.

JEL-codes: D83; J64; R23

18 pages, March 14, 2002

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