Laboratory experiments with a finite-horizon job-search model

In this article we explain the essential role of controlled experiments in testing job-search models. We derive the testable implications of a finite-horizon job-search model and lay out the design of the controlled experiments that we use to test those implications. We present the results of several parametric and nonparametric tests, all conditional on the actual draws of the wage offers. Overall, we find close agreement between the predictions of the search model and observations of search duration and income for several experimental treatments.