Which Factors Safeguard Employment? An Analysis with Misclassified German Register Data

FDZ-Methodenreport No. 11/2010

34 Pages Posted: 23 Jan 2011

See all articles by Laura Wichert

Laura Wichert

Deutsche Bundesbank - Economics Department; University of Konstanz - Department of Economics

Ralf A. Wilke

Copenhagen Business School - Department of Economics; Center for European Economic Research (ZEW); Government of the Federal Republic of Germany - Institute for Employment Research (IAB)

Date Written: December 2010

Abstract

We analyse the main determinants for job separation with transition to unemployment using individual administrative data from Germany. While the sample size is large and the information in target variables is often highly accurate, non-target variables are subject to considerable measurement error due to a lack of relevance for the data generating process. We show that the high degree of misclassification can even persist after comprehensive logical editing and imputation rules were applied. We find that the measurement error has a sizable effect on our estimation results. Long tenure rather than a higher educational qualification appears to be the key ingredient for a safe job in Germany.

Keywords: unemployment risk, nonclassical measurement error, MC-SIMEX

JEL Classification: C81, J63

Suggested Citation

Wichert, Laura and Wilke, Ralf A., Which Factors Safeguard Employment? An Analysis with Misclassified German Register Data (December 2010). FDZ-Methodenreport No. 11/2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1743492 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1743492

Laura Wichert

Deutsche Bundesbank - Economics Department ( email )

Wilhelm-Epstein-Strasse 14
60431 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

University of Konstanz - Department of Economics ( email )

Konstanz, D-78457
Germany

Ralf A. Wilke (Contact Author)

Copenhagen Business School - Department of Economics ( email )

Solbjerg Plads 3
Frederiksberg C, DK - 2000
Denmark

Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) ( email )

P.O. Box 10 34 43
L 7,1 D-68161 Mannheim
Germany

Government of the Federal Republic of Germany - Institute for Employment Research (IAB) ( email )

Regensburger Str. 104
Nuremberg, 90478
Germany

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