IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/0233.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Job Mobility and Earnings Over the Life Cycle

Author

Listed:
  • George J. Borjas

Abstract

The paper analyzes the effects of job mobility on earnings both at young and at older ages. The model takes into account the discontinuity of earnings across jobs, the decline of human capital investment within the job and over the life cycle, and the effects of mobility on the slope of the earnings profile. Careful attention to the functional form of the earnings equation indicates why the coefficient of the current segment is usually larger than the coefficient of the previous segments. Findings from the NLS data include: (1.) Mobile individuals at all ages invest significantly less in on-the-job training. (2.) Although job mobility is associated with significant wage gains (across jobs), there is a substantial wage differential between the mobile and the non-mobile at older ages. (3.) The explanatory power of the earnings equation is significantly increased by accounting for the effects of job mobility; job mobility is an important determinant of the wage structure.

Suggested Citation

  • George J. Borjas, 1978. "Job Mobility and Earnings Over the Life Cycle," NBER Working Papers 0233, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:0233
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w0233.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Freeman, Richard B, 1974. "Occupational Training in Proprietary Schools and Technical Institutes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 56(3), pages 310-318, August.
    2. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1, July.
    3. Ann P. Bartel & George J. Borjas, 1977. "Middle-Age Job Mobility: Its Determinants and Consequences," NBER Working Papers 0161, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Malkiel, Burton G & Malkiel, Judith A, 1973. "Male-Female Pay Differentials in Professional Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(4), pages 693-705, September.
    6. Yoram Ben-Porath, 1967. "The Production of Human Capital and the Life Cycle of Earnings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(4), pages 352-352.
    7. Griliches, Zvi, 1976. "Wages of Very Young Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(4), pages 69-85, August.
    8. Polachek, Solomon William, 1975. "Differences in Expected Post-school Investments as a Determinant of Market Wage Differentials," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 16(2), pages 451-470, June.
    9. Sherwin Rosen, 1972. "Learning and Experience in the Labor Market," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 7(3), pages 326-342.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Henneberger, Fred & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2002. "Beweggründe und Determinanten zwischenbetrieblicher Mobilität: Die Schweiz in einer internationalen Perspektive (Motives and determinants of job-to-job mobility : Switzerland in an international persp," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 35(2), pages 205-231.
    2. Javier Gómez Pineda, 2004. "A Framework for Macroeconomic Stability in Emerging Market Economies," Borradores de Economia 320, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    3. van Huizen, Thomas & Alessie, Rob, 2019. "Risk aversion and job mobility," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 91-106.
    4. Emily C. Blank, 1988. "Layoffs and Wage Growth of Male Household Heads," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 239-250, Jul-Sep.
    5. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2439-2483 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. T.M. van Huizen & Rob Alessie, 2016. "Risk Aversion and Job Mobility," Working Papers 16-09, Utrecht School of Economics.
    7. Aviad Tur-Sinai, 2020. "The effect of terror and economic sector in early career years on future career path," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 2153-2184, November.
    8. Alain Cohn & Michel André Maréchal & Frédéric Schneider & Roberto A Weber, 2021. "Frequent Job Changes can Signal Poor Work Attitude and Reduce Employability," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(1), pages 475-508.
    9. Alan Manning & Joanna Swaffield, 2008. "The gender gap in early-career wage growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(530), pages 983-1024, July.
    10. Harvey S. James & Derek M. Johnson, 2000. "Just-cause provisions, severance pay, and the efficiency wage hypothesis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(2), pages 83-88.
    11. Emily Blank, 1989. "Changes in the stock of on-the-job training, race, and wage growth," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 17(4), pages 45-57, March.
    12. Adrian Chadi & Clemens Hetschko, 2021. "How Job Changes Affect People's Lives — Evidence from Subjective Well‐Being Data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 279-306, June.
    13. Bäker, Agnes, 2015. "Non-tenured post-doctoral researchers’ job mobility and research output: An analysis of the role of research discipline, department size, and coauthors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 634-650.
    14. Parrado, E. & Wolff, E., 1999. "Occupational and Industry Mobility in the United States, 1969-1992," Working Papers 99-20, C.V. Starr Center for Applied Economics, New York University.
    15. Parrado, Eric & Caner, Asena & Wolff, Edward N., 2007. "Occupational and industrial mobility in the United States," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 435-455, June.
    16. Iris Kesternich & Bettina Siflinger & James P. Smith & Franziska Valder, 2022. "Relationship Stability: Evidence from Labor and Marriage Markets," CEBI working paper series 22-20, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    17. van Huizen, Thomas & Alessie, Rob, 2015. "Time preferences and career investments," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 77-92.
    18. Michael Carlos Best & Henrik Jacobsen Jacobsen, 2013. "Optimal Income Taxation with Career Effects of Work Effort," Working Papers 2013-9, Princeton University. Economics Department..
    19. Alan Manning & Farzad Saidi, 2010. "Understanding the Gender Pay Gap: What's Competition Got to Do with it?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(4), pages 681-698, July.
    20. Eric Parrado & Asena Caner & Edward N. Wolff, 2005. "Occupational and Industrial Mobility in the United States 1969–93," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_416, Levy Economics Institute.
    21. Eliza Forsythe, 2019. "Careers within Firms: Occupational Mobility Over the Lifecycle," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 33(3), pages 241-277, September.
    22. Nuno M. O. Romão & Vitor M. A. Escaria, 2004. "Wage mobility, Job mobility and Spatial mobility in the Portuguese economy," ERSA conference papers ersa04p584, European Regional Science Association.
    23. Alan L. Gustman & Thomas L. Steinmeier, 1982. "Partial Retirement and Wage Profiles of Older Workers," NBER Working Papers 1000, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Henneberger, Fred & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2002. "Beweggründe und Determinanten zwischenbetrieblicher Mobilität: Die Schweiz in einer internationalen Perspektive (Motives and determinants of job-to-job mobility : Switzerland in an international persp," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 35(2), pages 205-231.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:603-640 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Nikhil Agarwal, 2015. "An Empirical Model of the Medical Match," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(7), pages 1939-1978, July.
    3. 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.
    4. Reuben Gronau, 2010. "Zvi Griliches' Contribution to the Theory of Human Capital," NBER Chapters, in: Contributions in Memory of Zvi Griliches, pages 275-297, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Ferreira, Maria & de Grip, Andries & van der Velden, Rolf, 2018. "Does informal learning at work differ between temporary and permanent workers? Evidence from 20 OECD countries," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 18-40.
    6. Yoram Weiss, 1975. "The Earnings of Scientists, 1960-1970: Experience, Age and Vintage Effects," NBER Working Papers 0099, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. James Heckman & Lance Lochner & Ricardo Cossa, 2002. "Learning-By-Doing Vs. On-the-Job Training: Using Variation Induced by the EITC to Distinguish Between Models of Skill Formation," NBER Working Papers 9083, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Dench, Daniel & Grossman, Michael, 2018. "Health and the Wage Rate: Cause, Effect, Both, or Neither? New Evidence on an Old Question," IZA Discussion Papers 11943, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:357-386 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Daniel Dench & Michael Grossman, 2018. "Health and the Wage: Cause, Effect, Both, or Neither? New Evidence on an Old Question," NBER Working Papers 25264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Mark Rosenzweig, 1976. "Female work experience, employment status, and birth expectations: Sequential decision-making in the Philippines," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 13(3), pages 339-356, August.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4924 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Jarle Moen, 2005. "Is Mobility of Technical Personnel a Source of R&D Spillovers?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(1), pages 81-114, January.
    14. Felicia Ionescu, 2011. "Risky Human Capital and Alternative Bankruptcy Regimes for Student Loans," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(2), pages 153-206.
    15. Edward Lazear, 1977. "Schooling as a Wage Depressant," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 12(2), pages 164-176.
    16. Tony Smith & M. Fatih Guvenen, 2007. "Inferring Labor Income Risk from Economic Choices: An Indirect Inference Approach," 2007 Meeting Papers 1024, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    17. Daehaeng Kim & Chul-In Lee, 2007. "On-the-Job Human Capital Accumulation in a Real Business Cycle Model: Implications for Intertemporal Substitution Elasticity and Labor Hoarding," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 10(3), pages 494-518, July.
    18. Saïd Hanchane & Abraham Lioui & David Touahri, 2006. "Human capital as a risky asset and the effect of uncertainty on the decision to invest," Working Papers halshs-00010139, HAL.
    19. Thomas Dohmen & Armin Falk, 2010. "You Get What You Pay For: Incentives and Selection in the Education System," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(546), pages 256-271, August.
    20. Bram Wouterse & Karen Wiel & Marc Steeg, 2017. "Income Differences Between PhDs and Masters: Evidence from The Netherlands," De Economist, Springer, vol. 165(4), pages 439-461, December.
    21. Holger Strulik & Katharina Werner, 2016. "50 is the new 30—long-run trends of schooling and retirement explained by human aging," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 165-187, June.
    22. Marc van der Steeg & Karen van der Wiel & Bram Wouterse, 2014. "Individual Returns to a PhD Education in the Netherlands: Income Differences between Masters and PhDs," CPB Discussion Paper 276, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    23. Strulik, Holger & Werner, Katharina, 2014. "Elite education, mass education, and the transition to modern growth," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 205, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:0233. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.