Estimating the probability of a match using microeconomic data for the youth labour market

In this paper, we estimate the probability of a match for contacts between job seekers and vacancies. We relate the determinants of a match to the cha racteristics of the job seeker, the vacancy. and labour market conditions. Our main results are: ethnic minorities are discriminated against, but wome n are not; employers 'cream' the market and job seekers are ranked by their labour market state; high wage offers have a lower probability of a match; the probability of filling a job vacancy falls with vacancy duration, the higher stock of unemployed youths in a labour market, and the larger Career s Service; the probability of a match increases with job seeker duration. ( C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.