How Conformity to Labor Market Norms Increases Access to Job Search Assistance: A Case Study From Japan

Recent studies have shown that providing job search assistance to job seekers who violate labor market norms can be costly. Consequently, people with information about jobs are less willing to help deviant job seekers. This implies that job seekers' conformity to labor market norms should be useful in predicting receipt of job search assistance. The author tests this claim using data from Japan and finds evidence that deviant job seekers receive less assistance. The findings demonstrate the importance of social norms in understanding assistance flows and illustrate the limits of network analysis in explaining access to job search assistance.