Vacancy referrals and broader job search: the role of spillovers among caseworkers

This paper provides the first causal evidence of behavioral spillovers in public employment services (PES). Using rich Swedish administrative data from 2004–2018 and a difference-in-differences design exploiting caseworker moves across local PES offices, I show that caseworker’s broader vacancy referral behavior—vacancy referrals outside a job seeker’s stated preferences—responds strongly to the local work-practice styles. I also examine how these practice-environment shocks of the movers (caseworkers) affect their job seekers. Taken together, the evidence suggests that local referral practices and the surrounding organizational environment play an important role in shaping caseworker behavior, with consequences for job seekers’ reemployment prospects.