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  • Journal of Economic Perspectives

The Job Market for New Economists: A Market Design Perspective

By: Peter A. Coles, John Cawley, Phillip B. Levine, Muriel Niederle, Alvin E. Roth and John J. Siegfried
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Abstract

This paper, written by the members of the American Economic Association (AEA) Ad Hoc Committee on the Job Market, provides an overview of the market for new Ph.D. economists. It describes the role of the AEA in the market and focuses in particular on two mechanisms adopted in recent years at the suggestion of our Committee. First, job market applicants now have a signaling service to send an expression of special interest to up to two employers prior to interviews at the January Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA) meetings. Second, the AEA now invites candidates who are still on the market, and employers whose positions are still vacant, to participate in a web-based 'scramble' to reduce search costs and thicken the late part of the job market. We present statistics on the activity in these market mechanisms and present survey evidence that both mechanisms have facilitated matches. The paper concludes by discussing the emergence of platforms for transmitting job market information and other design issues that may arise in the market for new economists.

Keywords

Market Design; Jobs and Positions

Citation

Coles, Peter A., John Cawley, Phillip B. Levine, Muriel Niederle, Alvin E. Roth, and John J. Siegfried. "The Job Market for New Economists: A Market Design Perspective." Journal of Economic Perspectives 24, no. 4 (Fall 2010): 187–206.
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About The Author

Alvin E. Roth

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  • When Do Individuals Give Up Agency? The Role of Decision Avoidance By: Holly Dykstra, Christine L. Exley and Muriel Niederle
  • Kidney Exchange: An Operations Perspective By: Itai Ashlagi and Alvin E. Roth
  • The Role of Beliefs in Driving Gender Discrimination By: Katherine B. Coffman, Christine L. Exley and Muriel Niederle
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