In Limbo: Exploring transition to discouragement

Over the last decade, alongside high unemployment rates, the number of discouraged workers remained high in Turkey indicating a structural problem of the labor market. Moreover, the ratio of men among discouraged workers is particularly important compared to other OECD countries where the discouragement is thought to be related to gender issues. Discouraged worker literature mainly investigates differences in the transition rates from unemployment and discouragement into employment. Few studies, however, explicitly explore who becomes discouraged and why. In the Turkish labor market, the average transition from unemployment into discouragement is important and displays vast inter-regional disparities implying that local labor market (LLM) conditions matter. This paper aims to address factors affecting transition to discouragement in the Turkish labor market using pooled cross-section data from household labor force surveys for the period between 2006 and 2011, considering individual and household characteristics, as well as various LLM conditions. Our findings indicate that low qualifications and poor market conditions both lead to higher discouragement.