Search
Search

What are the determinants of hiring? The importance of product market demand and search frictions

PublicationArticle (with peer review)
Arbetslöshet, Företagandets villkor, Imperfekt konkurrens, Karolina Stadin, Rekrytering, Stefan Eriksson

Abstract

In this article, we study the importance of product market demand and search frictions for hiring. We use a search-matching model with imperfect competition in the product market to derive an equation for total hiring in a local labour market, and estimate it on Swedish panel data. If product markets are imperfectly competitive, product demand shocks should have a direct effect on employment for given levels of prices and wages. Our main finding is that product demand has such a direct effect on hiring. This highlights the importance of taking imperfect competition in the product market into account in studies of employment dynamics and hiring. We also find that, for given levels of prices, wages, and product demand, the number of unemployed workers in a local labour market has a positive effect on hiring, suggesting that search frictions matter. Quantitatively, product demand shocks seem to be more important for understanding the variation in hiring than shocks to the number of unemployed workers.

Eriksson, S., & Stadin, K. (2017). What are the determinants of hiring? The importance of product market demand and search frictions. Applied Economics, 49(50), 5144-5165. DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2017.1302058

Similar content

Ratio Working Paper No. 341: Recruitment of scarce competences to rural regions: Policies to promote recruitment
Working paperPublication
Nyström, K.
Download
Publication year

2020

Published in

Ratio Working Paper

Abstract

This paper studies the perceived difficulty of recruiting scarce competences to rural regions. Furthermore, the role of policy in facilitating and enhancing recruitment to and better skills matching in rural regions is discussed. Based on a survey targeted to the business sections in Swedish municipalities, the results show that recruitment is perceived to be difficult in both rural and non-rural regions. However, recruitment problems in the public sector are more pronounced in rural municipalities. Nevertheless, recruitment to the public and business sectors are perceived to be equally difficult in rural regions. Both rural municipalities and non-rural municipalities state that the difficulty of recruiting the right skills results in a lack of skills matching and constitutes an obstacle to growth. Which policies can help remedy recruitment problems in rural regions? The pecuniary incentive of writing off student debt is perceived to be the most promising policy, but respondents also believe that non-pecuniary support such as relocation support for accompanying persons and tandem recruitment should be implemented to a greater extent. Finally, the need for flexibility and policies that can be adapted to the regional demand for labour are stressed. This regards for example the adaption of education programmes to local needs and rules and regulations.

The openness of open innovation in ecosystems
Article (with peer review)Publication
Öberg, C., & Alexander, A.
Publication year

2019

Published in

Journal of Innovation & Knowledge

Abstract

Open innovation has rendered increased interest both in practice and research, and has expanded from dyadic transfers of ideas, to ecosystem levels. Knowledge is at the heart of open innovation, and this paper describes and discusses knowledge-transfer linkages for open innovation. It does so based on a literature review. The paper links together open innovation research with general management research to categorise and discuss linkages among parties in terms of their openness and how they relate to knowledge management. Conclusions indicate that openness needs to be considered in different dimensions that also links to different knowledge management outcomes. The paper’s contribution consists of how it connects open innovation research to the general management literature, and how it builds a practical understanding of how linkages between firms can be categorised to aid firms to consider which mechanisms they may choose and why.

A revised perspective on innovation policy for renewal of mature economies – Historical evidence from finance and telecommunications in Sweden 1980–1990
Article (with peer review)Publication
Eriksson, K., Ernkvist, M., Laurell, C., Moodysson, J., Nykvist, R. & Sandström, C.
Publication year

2019

Published in

Technological Forecasting and Social Change

Abstract

What is the role of innovation policy for accomplishing renewal of mature industries in Western economies? Drawing upon an unusually rich dataset spanning 9752 digitized archival documents, we categorize and code decisions taken by policymakers on several levels while also mapping and quantifying the strategic activities of both entrant firms and incumbent monopolists over a decade. Our data concerns two empirical cases from Sweden during the time period 1980–1990: the financial sector and the telecommunications sector. In both industries, a combination of technological and institutional upheaval came into motion during this time period which in turn fueled the revitalization of the Swedish economy in the subsequent decades. Our findings show that Swedish policymakers in both cases consistently acted in order to promote the emergence of more competition and de novo entrant firms at the expense of established monopolies. The paper quantifies and documents this process while also highlighting several enabling conditions. In conclusion, the results indicate that successful innovation policy in mature economies is largely a matter of strategically dealing with resourceful vested interest groups, alignment of expectations, and removing resistance to industrial renewal.

Show more