Jen Brown, Associate Professor, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia

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Date: Friday, September 23, 2016 -10:30am to 12:00pm

Location: Rafik B. Hariri Building, Room 570, McDonough School of Business

Presenter: Jen Brown , Associate Professor, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia

Paper: Home Values and Job Search during the Great Recession

Abstract:  This paper examines how housing market distress affects job search. Using data from a leading online job search platform during the Great Recession, we find that job seekers in areas with depressed housing markets apply for fewer jobs that require relocation. With their search constrained geographically, job seekers broaden their search to lower level positions nearby. These effects are stronger for job seekers with recourse mortgages, which we confirm using spatial regression discontinuity. Our findings suggest that housing market distress distorts labor market outcomes by impeding household mobility.

The BEPP seminar series showcases the scholarship of leading faculty from prominent universities across the nation and around the world. The CBPP presents this seminar series jointly with the Strategy, Economics, Ethics and Public Policy faculty of the McDonough School of Business, a multi-disciplinary group whose primary research and teaching interests lie in Economics, International Business, International Political Economy, Organizational Theory, and Strategy.