Reports
Discussion Papers
No.084 Are Job Networks Localized in a Developing Economy? Search Methods for Displaced Workers in Thailand
by MACHIKITA Tomohiro
December 2006
ABSTRACT
Effects of localized personal networks on the choice of search methods are studied in this paper using evidence of displaced workers by establishment closure in Thailand Labor Force Survey, 2001. For the blocks/villages level, there is less significant evidence of local interactions between job-seekers and referrals in developing labor markets. The effects of localized personal networks do not play an important role in the probability of unemployed job-seekers seeking assistance from friends and relatives. Convincing evidence from the data supports the proposition that both self-selection of individual background-like professions and access to large markets determine the choice of job search method.
Keywords: Crisis; Local Interactions, Job Search Methods, Referrals, Asymmetric Information, Thailand
JEL classification: C21, J63, J64, O18
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