Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Paper Series,
IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy

No 2018:21: Do digital information technologies help unemployed job seekers find a job? Evidence from the broadband internet expansion in Germany

Nicole Gürtzgen (), André Diegmann (né Nolte) (), Laura Pohlan () and Gerard J. van den Berg ()
Additional contact information
Nicole Gürtzgen: Institute for Employment Research, Postal: Institute for Employment Research, Regensburger Str. 100, D-90478 Nuremberg
André Diegmann (né Nolte): Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Postal: Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and Institute for Employment Research (IAB)
Laura Pohlan: Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Postal: Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and Institute for Employment Research (IAB)
Gerard J. van den Berg: University of Bristol, IFAU Uppsala, IZA, ZEW, CEPR and CESifo, Postal: Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy, P O Box 513, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden

Abstract: This paper studies effects of the introduction of a new digital mass medium on reemployment of unemployed job seekers. We combine data on high-speed (broadband) internet availability at the local level with German individual register data. We address endogeneity by exploiting technological peculiarities that affected the roll-out of high-speed internet. The results show that highspeed internet improves reemployment rates after the first months in unemployment. This is confirmed by complementary analyses with individual survey data suggesting that internet access increases online job search and the number of job interviews after a fewmonths in unemployment.

Keywords: Unemployment; online job search; information frictions; matching technology; search channels

JEL-codes: C26; H40; J64; K42; L96

61 pages, November 30, 2018

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