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Abstract

This paper studies matching mechanism design in government recruitment. I propose a non-transferable utility job-matching model with two-sided heterogeneity and demonstrate its nonparametric identification without relying individual-level data. I apply the framework to study the National Civil Service Exam (NCSE) in China, where each candidate applies to one position and subsequently takes a meritocratic exam that determines the assignment. The counterfactual analysis reveals that the NCSE can outperform a serial-dictatorship mechanism when candidates differ across multiple dimensions and information frictions exist in screening candidate characteristics.