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Abstract
In this paper we estimate a structural model of the search behaviour of the unemployed. We concentrate on the effect of unemployment benefits on the reservation wage which characterizes the optimal search strategy. We find a larger estimate of the benefit elasticity than that obtained in a comparable study for the United Kingdom. A comparison of the estimation results shows that the difference is due to a smaller arrival rate of job offers which is not accompanied by a lower reservation wage (relative to the wage offer distribution).