Unraveling unemployment hysteresis in Nordic countries: a multifaceted analysis of age, gender and frequency differentials

Purpose

This study aims to test the unemployment hysteresis hypothesis for Nordic countries by considering age and gender differentials at various frequencies.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors test the linearity of the unemployment series and apply appropriate unit root tests based on the linearity test results. The authors use these tests for both original and wavelet-decomposed unemployment rates.

Findings

The authors' findings indicate that the results obtained from the original and decomposed series differ. While the authors find evidence of unemployment hysteresis in the six unemployment rates in the short run, they observe supportive results for hysteresis in the three unemployment rates in the long run.

Originality/value

The authors take into account different age and gender groups. Furthermore, the authors propose a testing strategy for unemployment hysteresis that considers the nonlinearity and structural breaks in unemployment rates. Finally, the authors determine whether the unemployment hysteresis is valid at various frequencies.