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Career progression and comparative advantage

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  • Yamaguchi, Shintaro

Abstract

This paper constructs and estimates a structural dynamic model of occupational choice in which all occupations are characterized in a skill requirement space using data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and the NLSY79. This skill requirement space approach has its merit in computational simplicity as well as ease of interpretation: it allows the model to include hundreds of occupations at the three-digit census classification level without a large number of parameters. Parameter estimates indicate that wages grow with the skill requirements of an occupation and that educated and experienced individuals are better rewarded in a cognitive and interpersonal skill demanding occupation. They also suggest that ignoring self-selection into occupations and individual heterogeneity may result in counter-intuitive and biased estimates of the returns to skill requirements.

Suggested Citation

  • Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2010. "Career progression and comparative advantage," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 679-689, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:17:y:2010:i:4:p:679-689
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    1. Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2010. "The effect of match quality and specific experience on career decisions and wage growth," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 407-423, April.
    2. Chris Robinson, 2018. "Occupational Mobility, Occupation Distance, and Specific Human Capital," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(2), pages 513-551.
    3. Kostas Mavromaras & Joanne Flavel, 2017. "An Analysis of the Impact of Health on Occupation," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93, pages 86-104, June.
    4. Eva Moreno‐Galbis & Jeremy Tanguy & Ahmed Tritah & Catherine Laffineur, 2019. "Immigrants’ Wage Performance in a Routine Biased Technological Change Era: France 1994–2012," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 623-673, October.
    5. Shintaro Yamaguchi, 2012. "Tasks and Heterogeneous Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(1), pages 1-53.
    6. Okumura Tsunao & Usui Emiko, 2014. "Do Parents’ Social Skills Influence Their Children’s Sociability?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 1-36, July.
    7. Christina Gathmann & Uta Schönberg, 2010. "How General Is Human Capital? A Task-Based Approach," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(1), pages 1-49, January.
    8. Hugh Cassidy, 2017. "Task Variation Within Occupations," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 393-410, July.
    9. Kate Antonovics & Limor Golan, 2012. "Experimentation and Job Choice," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(2), pages 333-366.
    10. Shintaro Yamaguchi, 2009. "Formation of Heterogeneous Skills and Wage Growth," Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series gd09-088, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    11. Matthew D. Baird, 2017. "Labor Supply Estimation Biases From Disregarding Nonwage Benefits," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 55(2), pages 1064-1090, April.
    12. Carl Sanders & Christopher Taber, 2012. "Life-Cycle Wage Growth and Heterogeneous Human Capital," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 399-425, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Occupational choice Occupational sorting Human capital Skills Structural estimation;

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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