Determinants of lifetime unemployment: a micro data analysis with censored quantile regressions

Arbeitspapier

The empirical literature on unemployment almost exclusively focuses on the duration of distinct unemployment spells. In contrast, we use a large German administrative micro data set for the time span 1975-2004 to investigate individual lifetime unemployment (defined as the total length of all unemployment spells over a 25-year period). This new perspective enables us to answer questions regarding the long-term distribution and determinants of unemployment for West German birth cohorts 1950-1954. We find that lifetime unemployment is highly unevenly distributed and employ censored quantile regressions to show that, for men, pursuing a disadvantageous occupation early in the professional career leads to a significantly higher amount of lifetime unemployment.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 4751

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
• Subject: Lifetime unemployment ; censored quantile regressions ; occupation-specific human capital ; Arbeitslosigkeit ; Lebenszyklus ; Erwerbsverlauf ; Qualifikation ; Ungelernte Arbeitskräfte ; Schätzung ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Schmillen, Achim ; Möller, Joachim
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2010

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/35930
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET