摘要：The labor search and matching model plays a growing role in macroeconomic
analysis. This paper provides a critical, selective survey of the literature.
Four fundamental questions are explored: how are unemployment, job vacancies,
and employment determined as equilibrium phenomena? What determines worker flows
and transition rates from one labor market state to another? How are wages
determined? What role do labor market dynamics play in explaining business
cycles and growth? The survey describes the basic model, reviews its theoretical
extensions, and discusses its empirical applications in macroeconomics. The
model has developed against the background of difficulties with the use of the
neoclassical, frictionless model of the labor market in macroeconomics. Its
success includes the modelling of labor market outcomes as equilibrium
phenomena, the reasonable fit of the data, and — when inserted into business
cycle models — improved performance of more general macroeconomic models. At the
same time, there is evidence against the Nash solution used for wage setting and
an active debate as to the ability of the model to account for some of the
cyclical facts.
关键词：search, matching, macroeconomics, business cycles, worker flows, growth, policy
