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Skill Dispersion and Firm Productivity: An Analysis with Employer-Employee Matched Data

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Author Info
Iranzo, Susana
Schivardi, Fabiano
Tosetti, Elisa

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Abstract

We study the relation between workers' skill dispersion and firm productivity using a unique dataset of Italian manufacturing firms from the early eighties to the late nineties with individual records on all their workers. Our measure of skill is the individual worker's effect obtained as a latent variable from a wage equation. Estimates of a generalized CES production function that depends on the skill composition show that a firm's productivity is positively related to skill dispersion within occupational status groups (production and non-production workers) and negatively related to skill dispersion between these groups. Consistently, the variance decomposition shows that most of the overall skill dispersion is within and not between firms. We find no change over time in the share of each component, in contrast with some evidence from other countries, based on less comprehensive data.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 5539.

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Date of creation: Mar 2006
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5539

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Related research
Keywords: matched data; productivity; segregation; skills;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production

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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Michelacci, Claudio & Schivardi, Fabiano, 2008. "Does Idiosyncratic Business Risk Matter?," CEPR Discussion Papers 6910, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Thierry Lallemand & François Rycx, 2009. "Are Young and Old WorkersS Harmful for Firm Productivity ?," Working Papers CEB 09-002.RS, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Centre Emile Bernheim (CEB). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Uschi Backes-Gellner & Stephan Veen, 2008. "The Impact of Workforce Age Heterogeneity on Company Productivity," Working Papers 0078, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised Sep 2009. [Downloadable!]
  4. M. Pitzalis & Isabella Sulis & Mariano Porcu, 2008. "Differences of Cultural Capital among Students in Transition to University. Some First Survey Evidences," Working Paper CRENoS 200805, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia. [Downloadable!]
  5. Isabella Sulis & Mariano Porcu, 2008. "Assessing the Effectiveness of a Stochastic Regression Imputation Method for Ordered Categorical Data," Working Paper CRENoS 200804, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia. [Downloadable!]
  6. Matilde Bombardini & Giovanni Gallipoli & Germán Pupato, 2009. "Skill Dispersion and Trade Flows," NBER Working Papers 15097, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Hannu Piekkola, 2006. "Tax cuts and employment: Evidence from Finnish linked employer-employee data," Discussion Papers 1041, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy. [Downloadable!]
  8. Øivind A. Nilsen, Arvid Raknerud, Marina Rybalka and Terje Skjerpen, 2008. "Skill Composition: Exploring a Wage-based Skill Measure," Discussion Papers 531, Research Department of Statistics Norway. [Downloadable!]
  9. Gerardo Marletto, 2007. "Crossing The Alps: Three Transport Policy Options," Working Paper CRENoS 200712, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia. [Downloadable!]
  10. Yu, Li & Orazem, Peter, 2008. "Human Capital, Complex Technologies, Firm size and Wages: A Test of the O-Ring Production Hypotheses," Staff General Research Papers 12992, Iowa State University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  11. OA. Carboni & G. Medda, 2007. "Government Size and the Composition of Public Spending in a Neoclassical Growth Model," Working Paper CRENoS 200701, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia. [Downloadable!]
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