This paper reviews 20 years' worth of empirical evidence on the 'spatial mismatch' hypothesis. After briefly surveying the relevant models from urban and labour economics and recent trends in employment and population suburbanisation, the empirical evidence on spatial effects is examined. This literature includes evidence on the effects of residential segregation, residential suburbanisation and employment suburbanisation, and direct measures of 'access' (such as travel times). The most recent evidence suggests that spatial mismatch is relevant for explaining black/white employment differences, though the magnitudes of these effects remain unclear.

factors which cause young unemployed workers to use different methods of search; and (2) to analyze the effects of these search method choices on certain outcomes for these job seekers. The use of various search methods is measured both extensively (i.e., the number of search methods used) and intensively (i.e., the amount of time spent using each method). The employment outcomes considered are job offers and acceptances. The data used in the empirical work are taken from the Youth Cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) for the year 1981.

In this paper we explore the effects of labor demand shifts and population adjustments across metropolitan areas on the employment and earnings of various demographic groups during the 1980s. Results show that, although earnings and employment deteriorated for less-educated and black males in most areas in the 1980s, there was a good deal of geographic variation in the magnitudes of these changes. Shifts in labor demand across local areas contributed to this variation, and had greater relative impacts on the earnings and employment of these demographic groups. We also find that population shifts across areas, presumably due to migration, at least partially offset the effects of these demand shifts. But less-educated workers showed substantial y lower population adjustments in response to these demand shifts. These limited supply responses apparently contributed importantly to relatively greater deterioration of employment and earnings of these groups in declining areas during the 1980s.