Economists classify unemployment into four types according to what caused the unemployment. If we assume the goal is "full employment" (never mind how we might define or measure "full" right now - there's mischief there), then what we're really saying is that our goal is for the economy to create an appropriate a job for every … Continue reading Types (Causes) of Unemployment
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Nobel Memorial Prize Winners: Mortensen, Diamond, and Pissarides
The 2010 winners of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (often incorrectly called the Nobel Prize for Economics) are Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen, and Christopher Pissarides. They did work on search models, labor markets, and unemployment. In particular, their work helps explain why even when there are more job openings … Continue reading Nobel Memorial Prize Winners: Mortensen, Diamond, and Pissarides
Frictional, Structural, Cyclical Unemployment Defined
Mark Thoma explains the difference between cyclical, structural, and frictional unemployment: As I noted in a previous post, economists define three types of unemployment: frictional, structural, and cyclical: Frictional unemployment is defined as the unemployment that occurs because of people moving or changing occupations. Demographic change can also play a role in this type of … Continue reading Frictional, Structural, Cyclical Unemployment Defined