Duration dependence and heterogeneity in French youth unemployment durations

This paper investigates the degree to which the individual exit rate out of unemployment for young job seekers changes as a function of the elapsed un employment duration. We use a nonparametric estimation method for populatio n data on outflows from different duration classes. The method also provide s estimates of the amount of unobserved heterogeneity in these data. We exp licitly take into account that individual exit rates are affected by the bu siness cycle. The method is applied to population data on young French unem ployed job seekers. The results are used for policy recommendations. JEL cl assification: J6.