Returns to labor mobility. Layoff costs and quit turbulence

Abstract

Returns to labor mobility have too often escaped the attention they deserve as conduits of important forces in macro-labor models. These returns are shaped by calibrations of productivity processes that use theoretical perspectives and data sources from (i) labor economics and (ii) industrial organization. By studying how equilibrium unemployment responds to (a) layoff costs, and (b) likelihoods of skill losses following quits, we tighten calibrations of macro-labor models.