Estimating Equilibrium Search Models from Finnish Data

Empirical equilibrium search models have attracted a growing interest in recent years. Estimation of such models has not been completely successful, however. This has led researchers to develop more sophisticated versions of the models, in an attempt to get a better fit to the data. This study investigates whether various proposed specifications are able to explain the labour market histories observed in Finnish panel data. We begin with a pure search model in which all wage dispersion results from search frictions. Then we proceed to more complex specifications by introducing measurement error in wages and unobserved employer heterogeneity.