Research project Labor Mobility and Regional Labor Markets

This project analyzes labor mobility in the Swedish labor market. Given that individuals are mostly mobile within their local labor markets, it is essential to consider the characteristics of regional economies such as size, or industry and occupation structure to understand the mobility of labor. The project will combine insights from labor economics, regional economics, and economic geography to generate new and important knowledge, for both the academic community and policymakers.

The project comprises three working packages where each one seeks to understand specific aspects of labor mobility: (i) Understanding how the wage returns to commuting vary with education, industry, and region type. (ii) The role of regional labor market characteristics for labor outcomes such as decision to to commute and earnings. (iii) The long-term effects of temporary living abroad during childhood.

The project will rely on Swedish geo-coded longitudinal micro data for individuals, firms, and establishments. The dataset provides comprehensive yearly information on individuals and jobs, allowing for a detailed study of labor mobility. It also includes information on the geographic location of individuals and firms at fine micro levels, creating unique opportunities for reliably identifying the role of the regional economy on labor outcomes. To identify causal effects, we will apply innovative empirical methods from both applied economics and economic geography.

Sweden suffers from a shortage of qualified labor. At the same time, Sweden is facing a recession, which is expected to increase inequality in the labor market, where certain individuals and regions will be hit harder than others. This project is highly relevant to these issues because labor mobility improves job matches, drives innovation, and balances out macroeconomic shocks. The project will shed light on the factors driving successful labor outcomes, which have implications for economic development, inequality, long-term unemployment, and worker-job mismatches.