Reproducibility package for Why Don’t Jobseekers Search More? Barriers And Returns To Search On A Job Matching Platform
Overview
Understanding specific barriers to job search and returns to relaxing these barriers is important for economists and policymakers. An experiment that changes the default process for initiating job applications increases applications by 600% on a search platform in Pakistan. Perhaps surprisingly, the marginal treatment-induced applications have approximately constant rather than decreasing returns. These results are consistent with a directed search model in which some jobseekers miss some high-return vacancies due to psychological costs of initiating applications. These findings show that small reductions in search costs can substantially improve search outcomes in environments with some relatively inactive jobseekers
Reproducibility Package
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Reproducibility
Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
• Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6226R CPU @ 2.90GHz
• Memory available: 32.0 GB
Runtime: ~5.5 hours.
The replication package starts from intermediary datasets and these are included in the package. The data originates from multiple survey instruments and administrative records collected progressively over the study period. Due to the complexity of integrating these data streams, the authors have provided semi-cleaned data as the starting point for replication. Semi-cleaning includes appending and merging multiple administrative and survey rounds, harmonizing variable names, cleaning inconsistent or invalid observations, recoding variables, generating identifiers and intermediate variables, applying variable labels, and conducting basic quality checks.
To reproduce the findings in this paper, a replicator must:
- Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See the Datasets section for more details.
- Run the Package:
- Update the working directory in line 38 of the do-file
01_Masterdofile.do, and run it.
Since not all the data is included, the package includes the results produced by replicators. These files can be used to review the results presented in the paper.
Data
All data sources are publicly available but not all are included in the reproducibility package.
Description
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Kate Vyborny | World Bank | kvyborny@worldbank.org |
| Erica Field | Duke University | field.erica@duke.edu |
| Robert Garlick | Duke University | robert.garlick@duke.edu |
| Nivedhitha Subramanian | Bates College | niv.subramanian@gmail.com |
2026-07-23
Scope and coverage
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| Pakistan | PAK |
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| MIT License | https://opensource.org/license/mit |
| World Bank IGO Rider | https://github.com/worldbank/metadata-editor/blob/main/WB-IGO-RIDER.md |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Kate Vyborny | World Bank | kvyborny@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
2026-07-23
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