Job Search and Commuting Time

Abstract

We structuraJly analyze a job search model for unemployed individu& that allows jobs to have different wage/commuting-time combinations.The structural parameter of interest is the willingness to pay for commuting time.We use a unique dataset containing subjective responses on the optimal search strategy by unemployed individu& in order to estimate this structural parameter without the need to rely on strong functional form assumptions.We pay special attention to specification errors in the model and to measurement errors in the data.The estimation results identify certain types of individu& who have a very low willingness to pay for (i.e. a very high disutility of) commuting time.