Information and Labor Markets in the Philippines.

Abstract

This dissertation explores barriers to job-search and labor migration in the Philippines. In my first chapter, I test the impact of factual information and experience attending a job fair on individuals' job-search processes and labor-market outcomes through a field experiment I conduct in the rural Philippines. Assignment to a voucher to encourage job-fair attendance more than doubles the likelihood of looking for work in Manila in the two months following the fair and increases formal sector employment ten months after the fair by 38 percent. Direct provision of information about average wages or minimum qualifications for overseas work does not affect individuals' decisions to look for work overseas, though it does affect their beliefs in predictable ways. These results indicate that a relatively modest increase in labor-market exposure, such as that obtained from attending a job fair, can have lasting effects on individuals' job-search effort and employment outcomes.

The second chapter uses this same field experiment to explore how individuals self-select into job search for overseas work. I examine the impact of a randomized one-time incentive to initiate job search on this selection. Subsidizing job-fair attendance reduces otherwise positive selection among those who attend the job-fair without the subsidy. While many attendees then self-select out of participating, voucher assignment increases the attendance rates for those with a high degree of uncertainty about their own labor market prospects, indicating that imperfect information about the returns to participation affects individuals' search decisions.

My third chapter, joint with David McKenzie and Dean Yang, presents results from a field experiment to test the impact of reducing informational and bureaucratic barriers on individuals' ability to migrate overseas. We find that removal of these barriers leads individuals to take steps towards international migration, with passport assistance even leading to a higher rate of job interviews and job offers abroad. None of our treatments generate a significant increase in the likelihood of migrating abroad. We explore different explanations and conclude that there are multiple barriers on both the demand and supply sides of the international labor market.