Using repeated cross-sectional data to examine the role of immigrant birth-country networks on unemployment duration: an application of Guell and Hu (2006) approach

Kusum Mundra () and Fernando Rios-Avila ()

Empirical Economics, 2021, vol. 61, issue 1, No 15, 389-415

Abstract: Abstract Guell and Hu (J Econom 133:307–341, 2006) propose a robust econometric estimator using repeated cross-sectional data in the context of duration/survival analysis where otherwise limited or no results are possible because reliable panel data at an individual level are missing. We present a detailed exposition of the Guell and Hu (GH) strategy and show a Monte Carlo simulation for unemployment duration where the GH method produces better estimates compared to panel data with individual matching errors. We further apply the GH model to examine the immigrant unemployment duration in the USA using the Current Population Survey data from 2001 to 2013 and focus on the role of the birth-country networks on the unemployment duration around the Great Recession. We find that birth-country networks measured at the state level significantly lower unemployment duration for all immigrants, and this effect is stronger during the pre- and post-recession periods than during the recession. We also find that networks are more effective in lowering duration for immigrants unemployed for 1–2 months than for immigrants who are unemployed for longer periods, and this effect is the strongest during the post-recession period. The findings are robust to different specifications and measures of networks including those measured at the local MSA level.

Keywords: Repeated cross section; Unemployment duration; Immigrants; Birth-country social networks; Great Recession (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C D10 J61 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00181-020-01855-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:empeco:v:61:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s00181-020-01855-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer. ... rics/journal/181/PS2

DOI: 10.1007/s00181-020-01855-x

Access Statistics for this article

Empirical Economics is currently edited by Robert M. Kunst, Arthur H.O. van Soest, Bertrand Candelon, Subal C. Kumbhakar and Joakim Westerlund

More articles in Empirical Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().