We study a model in which households are subject to uninsurable idiosyncratic employment shocks, firms set prices subject to nominal rigidities, and the labor market is characterized by matching frictions and by downward in flexible wages. We introduce heterogeneity in search efficiency that...

This paper presents a two-step job ladder model where a skilled individual faces uncertainty in getting a skilled job and an inferior (unskilled) job down the job ladder is the alternative employment opportunity. When the probability of getting the skilled job is low enough, the model suggests...