Testing for Asymmetry in British, German and US Unemployment Data

Stephan Kohns ()
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Stephan Kohns: Statistisches Bundesamt

No 341, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Not only the level of aggregate unemployment but also the properties of its dynamics are an important topic in macroeconomics and labor economics. Several models like e.g. matching models with endogenous job destruction explicitly predict an asymmetric pattern in the evolution of unemployment, whereas linear models with Gaussian innovations preclude such dynamics. This paper applies several tests for asymmetry to aggregate British, German and US unemployment data to assess the relevance of asymmetries and compare the testing procedures. The results indicate that unemployment increases more quickly than it decreases, which is consistent with the pattern implied by matching models with endogenous job destruction.

Keywords: Asymmetries; unemployment dynamics; matching model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E32 J20 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35 pages
Date: 2001-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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