Projects per year
Abstract
What is the effect of social networks on labor market outcomes? The tradition following Grannovetter
claims that social ties have a positive effect on wages, job prestige and job satisfaction. Although a number
of studies have found positive correlations between friendship characteristics and labour market status, there
is still disagreement on whether or not the effect is causal. One objection is that the correlations could be
caused by social homophily--the fact that similar people tend to become friends with each other. This paper
uses unique labor market data from Denmark to test for the effect of a very specific form of social capital--
the number of former work colleagues--on respondents' unemployment duration. To address the possible
role of social homophily and reverse causality, we use an indirect test of causality proposed by Mouw (2003)
based on the probability of using contacts to find work. Results indicate that the number of industry-specific
colleagues is both associated higher employment rates with the probability of using contacts to find work.
We argue that this is consistent with a causal role of social networks in the labor market, as former
colleagues provide information about job openings.
Original language | English |
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Publication date | 2008 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Event | American Sociological Association's 103rd Annual Meeting, Worlds of Work - Boston, United States Duration: 1 Aug 2008 → 4 Sept 2008 |
Conference
Conference | American Sociological Association's 103rd Annual Meeting, Worlds of Work |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Boston |
Period | 01/08/2008 → 04/09/2008 |
Projects
- 1 Active
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SVP: Arbejdsmarkeds- og velfærdspolitikkens effekt på lediges arbejdsmarkedstilknytning
Andersen, J. G., Pedersen, J., Quinto Romani, A., Larsen, C. A., Clement, S. L., Harrits, G. S., Møberg, R. J., Nørup, I., Breidahl, K. N. & Seemann, J. E.
19/05/2010 → …
Project: Research
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