The Matching Function: A Unified Look into the Black Box (opens in new tab)

In this paper, we use tools from network theory to trace the properties of the matching function to the structure of granular connections between applicants and vacancies. We unify seemingly disparate parts of the literature by recovering multiple functional forms as special cases including the CES. We derive a testable condition under which matching in any network from the broad class we analyze can be thought "as if" it comes from a CES matc...