On The dynamic of search, matching and productivity in New Zealand and Australia

Razzak, Weshah (2008): On The dynamic of search, matching and productivity in New Zealand and Australia. Forthcoming in: International Journal of Applied Economics : pp. 1-33.

Abstract

As far as we know there has been no, or very little, empirical examination of search models and unemployment – vacancy relationship in New Zealand. We empirically examine dynamic matching functions in the New Zealand labor market over the period 1986-2006. Further, it is well documented that although New Zealand and Australia embarked on similar wide economic reforms almost 25 years ago, the level of New Zealand’s labor productivity is still lower than that of Australia (Razzak, 2007) and lower than the US productivity level (Prescott, 2002). It is has been argued that among the main explanatory variable is the low level of capital intensity – capital per hour worked - Razzak (2007) and Hall and Scobie (2005). However, there has been no formal explanation for the low level of capital intensity. This paper explains why capital investments are relatively lower in New Zealand. We do this by examining the dynamics of the labor markets in New Zealand and Australia.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Matching Function, Beveridge curve, Labor Productivity
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C1 - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General > C13 - Estimation: General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers > J64 - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Single Equation Models ; Single Variables > C22 - Time-Series Models ; Dynamic Quantile Regressions ; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models ; Diffusion Processes

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