Employment effects of extended geographic scope in job search

This paper uses a unique possibility to link unemployed individuals' stated willingness to move for work with administrative data, giving us the possibility to analyse the effects of individual willingness-to-move on labour market outcome. Those with extended geographic job search area have a higher probability of finding a job. However, the greatest effect is found on the local labour market, indicating that it is not the extended geographic scope per se that increases the likelihood of escaping unemployment, but differences in unobservable characteristics between those who use an extended search area and those who do not.

► Willingness to move is extracted from unemployment agency records.
► Employment effects of extended job search area are analysed.
► Employment effects are positive, but mainly in the local labour market.
► Selection into migration rather than migration yields positive employment effects.