THE DURATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT - STOCKS AND FLOWS ON REGIONAL LABOR-MARKETS IN THE NETHERLANDS

In this paper flows into and out of the stock of unemployed are estimated by means of a statistical method using aggregate data of incomplete unemployment spells. A distinguishing feature of this method is that it is not based on stationarity assumptions of the stock of unemployed. Results are presented for The Netherlands from the period 1983-7. Special attention is paid to inter-regional differences in inflow-outflow patterns of unemployed. An effort is made to explain the observed regional differences in the average length of completed spells of unemployment by differences in professional and demographic patterns and in the number of vacancies per region. It appears that the number of vacant jobs in a region has a favourable influence on the duration of unemployment. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.