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Human Capital Externalities: Evidence from the Transition Economy of Russia

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Author Info
Alexander Muravyev

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Abstract

The paper tests for the existence of human capital externalities, more precisely those stemming from higher education, using a micro-level approach: the Mincerian wage regression augmented with the average level of education in a local geographical area (city). To solve identification problems arising due to endogeneity of average education the study exploits a natural experiment provided by the process of economic transition in the former communist economies. We argue that the educational structure of cities under the central planning was determined by the government rather than the market; thus the average educational attainment in cities at the end of communism can be regarded as exogenous with respect to the wages prevailing after the start of transition. The identification strategy based on the use of the pre-transition average education is applied to data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, RLMS. Empirical results are consistent with the presence of significant human capital (educational) externalities in the Russian economy. According to the estimates, one percent increase in the college share in a city results in the increase of city residents' wages by about 1.5 percent. The result proves to be robust to several changes in the empirical specification.

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Paper provided by DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research in its series Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin with number 629.

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Length: 35 p.
Date of creation: 2006
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Publication status: Published in: Economics of Transition 16 (2008), 3, 415-443
Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp629

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Related research
Keywords: Human Capital Externalities; Cities; Russia;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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References listed on IDEAS
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. Victoria Vernon, 2002. "Human Capital in Transitional Russia," Labor and Demography 0204003, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  2. Psacharopoulos, George & Patrinos, Harry Anthony, 2002. "Returns to investment in education : a further update," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2881, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Acemoglu, Daron, 1996. "A Microfoundation for Social Increasing Returns in Human Capital Accumulation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(3), pages 779-804, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Michael Spagat, 2002. "Human Capital, Growth and Inequality in Transition Economies," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 499, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Ingo Geishecker & John P. Haisken-DeNew, 2002. "Riding the Transition Roller-Coaster: Flexibility and the Inter-Industry Wage Structure in Russia," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 280, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  6. Ciccone, Antonio & Peri, Giovanni, 2002. "Identifying Human Capital Externalities: Theory with an Application to US Cities," IZA Discussion Papers 488, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  7. Moretti, Enrico, 2004. "Human capital externalities in cities," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 51, pages 2243-2291 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Giannetti, Mariassunta, 2003. "On the mechanics of migration decisions: skill complementarities and endogenous price differentials," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 329-349, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Card, David, 1999. "The causal effect of education on earnings," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 30, pages 1801-1863 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Rauch James E., 1993. "Productivity Gains from Geographic Concentration of Human Capital: Evidence from the Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 380-400, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Daniel Munich & Jan Svejnar & Daniel Munich, 1999. "Returns to Human Capital under the Communist Wage Grid and During the Transition to a Market Economy," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 272, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross Business School. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Ira N. Gang & Robert C. Stuart, 1999. "Mobility where mobility is illegal: Internal migration and city growth in the Soviet Union," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 117-134. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Enrico Moretti, 2002. "Estimating the Social Return to Higher Education: Evidence From Longitudinal and Repeated Cross-Sectional Data," NBER Working Papers 9108, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Alan B. Krueger & Mikael Lindahl, 2001. "Education for Growth: Why and for Whom?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1101-1136, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Barbara Sianesi, 2002. "The returns to education: a review of the empirical macro-economic literature," IFS Working Papers W02/05, Institute for Fiscal Studies. [Downloadable!]
  16. Lucas, Robert Jr., 1988. "On the mechanics of economic development," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 3-42, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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. Aleksey Oshchepkov, 2007. "Are Interregional Wage Differentials in Russia Compensative?," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 750, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  2. Mueller, Normann, 2007. "(Mis-)Understanding Education Externalities," MPRA Paper 6307, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  3. Halfdanarson, Benedikt & Heuermann, Daniel F. & Suedekum, Jens, 2008. "Human Capital Externalities and the Urban Wage Premium: Two Literatures and their Interrelations," IZA Discussion Papers 3493, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Mueller, Normann, 2007. "(Mis-)Understanding Education Externalities," MPRA Paper 5331, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Mar 2007. [Downloadable!]
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