IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/applec/v42y2010i14p1747-1760.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the distribution of job characteristics: an analysis of the DOT data

Author

Listed:
  • Wim Vijverberg
  • Joop Hartog

Abstract

We analyse the information in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles to characterize the structure of labour demand. Two dimensions, an intellectual factor and a dexterity factor, capture two-thirds of the variance in job requirements; the remaining (co-)variance cannot be easily structured. Simple linear relationships go a long way in describing the matching between job activities and required worker qualities (Intellect for complex relations to Data and to People, Dexterity for complex relations to Things). There is no dichotomy between mathematical and verbal required skills. Poor working conditions are not restricted to workers in low-level jobs; we find strong support for compensating wage differentials. At more intellectual jobs, men receive less wage compensation for working conditions, while in jobs requiring greater dexterity they receive more. Such a relationship is absent for women.

Suggested Citation

  • Wim Vijverberg & Joop Hartog, 2010. "On the distribution of job characteristics: an analysis of the DOT data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(14), pages 1747-1760.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:42:y:2010:i:14:p:1747-1760
    DOI: 10.1080/00036840701736115
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00036840701736115
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00036840701736115?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vijverberg, Wim P. & Hartog, Joop, 2005. "On Simplifying the Structure of Labour Demand: An Analysis of the DOT Data," IZA Discussion Papers 1809, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Heckman, James J & Honore, Bo E, 1990. "The Empirical Content of the Roy Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(5), pages 1121-1149, September.
    3. Hartog, Joop, 1980. "Earnings and Capability Requirements," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 62(2), pages 230-240, May.
    4. Teulings, Coen N, 1995. "The Wage Distribution in a Model of the Assignment of Skills to Jobs," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(2), pages 280-315, April.
    5. repec:eee:labchp:v:1:y:1986:i:c:p:641-692 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Sattinger, Michael, 1975. "Comparative Advantage and the Distributions of Earnings and Abilities," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 43(3), pages 455-468, May.
    7. Charles Brown, 1980. "Equalizing Differences in the Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 94(1), pages 113-134.
    8. Duncan, Greg J & Holmlund, Bertil, 1983. "Was Adam Smith Right after All? Another Test of the Theory of Compensating Wage Differentials," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(4), pages 366-379, October.
    9. Maury B. Gittleman & David R. Howell, 1995. "Changes in the Structure and Quality of Jobs in the United States: Effects by Race and Gender, 1973–1990," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 48(3), pages 420-440, April.
    10. Joop Hartog, 1988. "An Ordered Response Model for Allocation and Earnings," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 113-141, February.
    11. Ingram, Beth F. & Neumann, George R., 2006. "The returns to skill," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 35-59, February.
    12. Hartog, Joop, 1988. "An Ordered Response Model for Allocation and Earnings," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 113-141.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Han, Seungjin & Yamaguchi, Shintaro, 2015. "Compensating wage differentials in stable job matching equilibrium," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 36-45.
    2. Inmaculada García & José Alberto Molina, 1999. "How do workers decide their jobs? The influence of income, wage and job characteristics," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 189-204.
    3. Hartog, Joop, 2000. "Over-education and earnings: where are we, where should we go?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 131-147, April.
    4. Robert M. Costrell & Glenn C. Loury, 2004. "Distribution of Ability and Earnings in a Hierarchical Job Assignment Model," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(6), pages 1322-1363, December.
    5. Kuralbayeva, Karlygash & Stefanski, Radoslaw, 2013. "Windfalls, structural transformation and specialization," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 273-301.
    6. Franziska Ohnsorge & Daniel Trefler, 2004. "Sorting It Out: International Trade and Protection With Heterogeneous Workers," NBER Working Papers 10959, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Ying Sophie Huang & Carl R. Chen, 2013. "Are college chief executives paid like corporate CEOs or bureaucrats?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(21), pages 3035-3043, July.
    8. Tadashi Sakai & Naomi Miyazato, 2014. "Who values the family-friendly aspects of a job? Evidence from the Japanese labour market," The Japanese Economic Review, Japanese Economic Association, vol. 65(3), pages 397-413, September.
    9. Arnaud Costinot & Jonathan Vogel, 2010. "Matching and Inequality in the World Economy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(4), pages 747-786, August.
    10. Pieter A. Gautier & Coen N. Teulings, 2000. "The Right Man for the Job: Increasing Returns in Search?," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 0066, Econometric Society.
    11. Robert Dur & Coen Teulings, 2003. "Are Education Subsides an Efficient Redistributive Device?," CEE Discussion Papers 0030, Centre for the Economics of Education, LSE.
    12. Pieter A. Gautier & Coen N. Teulings, 2015. "Sorting And The Output Loss Due To Search Frictions," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 13(6), pages 1136-1166, December.
    13. StÈphane Bonhomme & GrÈgory Jolivet, 2009. "The pervasive absence of compensating differentials," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(5), pages 763-795.
    14. Petri Böckerman & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2006. "Do job disamenities raise wages or ruin job satisfaction?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(3), pages 290-302, April.
    15. Joop Hartog & Mirjam Van Praag & Justin Van Der Sluis, 2010. "If You Are So Smart, Why Aren't You an Entrepreneur? Returns to Cognitive and Social Ability: Entrepreneurs Versus Employees," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 947-989, December.
    16. Usui, Emiko, 2009. "Wages, non-wage characteristics, and predominantly male jobs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 52-63, January.
    17. Thomas DeLeire & Shakeeb Khan & Christopher Timmins, 2013. "Roy Model Sorting And Nonrandom Selection In The Valuation Of A Statistical Life," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 54(1), pages 279-306, February.
    18. C. N. Teulings & J. A. C. Vieira, 2004. "Urban Versus Rural Return to Human Capital in Portugal: A Cookbook Recipe for Applying Assignment Models," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 18(2), pages 265-291, June.
    19. Dominik Sachs & Aleh Tsyvinski & Nicolas Werquin, 2020. "Nonlinear Tax Incidence and Optimal Taxation in General Equilibrium," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 469-493, March.
    20. James J. Heckman & Rosa Matzkin & Lars Nesheim, 2003. "Simulation and Estimation of Nonaddative Hedonic Models," NBER Working Papers 9895, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    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:taf:applec:v:42:y:2010:i:14:p:1747-1760. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RAEC20 .

    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.