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The Employment Advantages of Skilled Urban Municipalities in Colombia

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  • Ana María Díaz

Abstract

This paper explores whether the agglomeration of human capital leads to social employment advantages in urban labor markets of Colombia. It compares employment opportunities in urban areas where the level of education differs while controlling for plausible confounders using census data for 1993 and 2005. Results show that employment opportunities are higher on average in skilled urban areas than in low-skilled urban areas. Recent literature has offered at least three explanations for this positive effect: human capital externalities, production complementarities, and consumption spillovers. To distinguish between them, I analyze the effect of an increase on the college share on the employment rate for different education groups. An increase in the supply of college graduates only affects the employment rates of primary and high-school dropouts. Human capital externalities and production complementarities explain the spatial employment differences in Colombia.

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  • Ana María Díaz, 2013. "The Employment Advantages of Skilled Urban Municipalities in Colombia," Revista ESPE - Ensayos sobre Política Económica, Banco de la Republica de Colombia, vol. 31(70), pages 316-366, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdr:ensayo:v:31:y:2013:i:70:p:316-366
    DOI: 10.1016/S0120-4483(13)70035-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Luis Eduardo Arango & Gabriela Bonilla, 2015. "Human capital agglomeration and social returns to education in Colombia," Borradores de Economia 12788, Banco de la Republica.
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    3. Ejiro U. Osiobe, 2019. "A Literature Review of Human Capital and Economic Growth," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 9(4), pages 179-196, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Local Labor Markets; Employment; Human Capital Externalities; Production Complementarities; Consumer Demand Spillovers; Signaling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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