中文摘要
我们利用来自各收入水平国家的家庭调查数据,记录到平均失业率随人均国内生产总值上升而上升。这一现象几乎完全由受教育程度低——而非高——的劳动者所解释。我们在一个包含摩擦性劳动力市场、传统自我雇佣部门、各国间技能偏向型生产率差异以及随发展日益慷慨的失业救济的模型中对这些事实加以解释。模型的校准版本能够较好地解释我们所记录的跨国模式。反事实分析表明,技能偏向型生产率差异是解释跨国失业模式的最重要因素。
Abstract
We draw on household survey data from countries of all income levels and document that average unemployment rates increase with gross domestic product per capita. This is accounted for almost entirely by low—rather than high—educated workers. We interpret these facts in a model with frictional labour markets, a traditional self-employment sector, skill-biased productivity differences across countries, and unemployment benefits that become more generous with development. A calibrated version of the model does well in explaining the cross-country patterns that we document. Counterfactual exercises point to skill-biased productivity differences as the most important factor in explaining the cross-country unemployment patterns.