IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/aerins/v7y2025i1p56-70.html

Does Turnover Inhibit Specialization? Evidence from a Skill Survey in Peru

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Atencio-De-Leon
  • Munseob Lee
  • Claudia Macaluso

Abstract

We design, pilot, and field a new survey of job skills in Peru to investigate human capital differences between poor and rich countries. Peruvian jobs have markedly more uniform skill profiles than jobs in the United States. On the other hand, matching frictions are no more severe than in the United States, and recruiting technology is largely equivalent as well. We propose a stylized model in the O-ring tradition, in which a labor demand preference for unspecialized workers can endogenously arise when there is uncertainty about labor availability.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Atencio-De-Leon & Munseob Lee & Claudia Macaluso, 2025. "Does Turnover Inhibit Specialization? Evidence from a Skill Survey in Peru," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 7(1), pages 56-70, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aerins:v:7:y:2025:i:1:p:56-70
    DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20230657
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/aeri.20230657
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/aeri.20230657.appx
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.aeaweb.org/doi/10.1257/aeri.20230657.ds
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1257/aeri.20230657?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anne O. Krueger, 1983. "Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 3: Synthesis and Conclusions," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number krue83-1, January.
    2. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    3. Anne O. Krueger, 1983. "Trade and Employment in Less Developed Countries: The Questions," NBER Chapters, in: Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 3: Synthesis and Conclusions, pages 1-9, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. David Deming & Lisa B. Kahn, 2018. "Skill Requirements across Firms and Labor Markets: Evidence from Job Postings for Professionals," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S1), pages 337-369.
    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. Beber, Bernd & Frohnweiler, Sarah & Lakemann, Tabea & Anti Partey, Peter & Schnars, Regina & Lay, Jann, 2025. "Skills trainings and Bayesian learning: A multisite randomized controlled trial in Ghana," Ruhr Economic Papers 1170, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.

    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. D. Sirin Saracoglu, 2009. "Adjustment under trade liberalization, labor market segmentation, and informal employment: A dynamic general equilibrium analysis of a three-sector-open economy," 2009 Meeting Papers 629, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    2. Julien Gourdon, 2011. "Wage inequality in developing countries: South–South trade matters," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 58(4), pages 359-383, December.
    3. Özlem Onaran & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2006. "The effect of FDI and foreign trade on wages in the Central and Eastern European Countries in the post-transition era: A sectoral analysis," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp094, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    4. Rajah Rasiah & Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidt, 2010. "Introduction," Chapters, in: Rajah Rasiah & Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidt (ed.), The New Political Economy of Southeast Asia, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Justin Yifu Lin & Pengfei Zhang, 2007. "Development Strategy and Economic Institutions in Less Developed Countries," CID Working Papers 17, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    6. Arup Mitra & Chandan Sharma, 2014. "Technology Intensity and Global Competitiveness: Issues in Labour Cost and Employment," Working Papers id:6217, eSocialSciences.
    7. Sebastian Edwards, 1989. "Debt Crisis, Trade Liberalization, Structural Adjustment, And Growth: Some Policy Considerations," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 7(3), pages 30-41, July.
    8. Edward Tower, 1986. "Industrial Policy In Less Developed Countries," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 4(1), pages 23-35, January.
    9. Ana Paula MARTINS, 2014. "The Mechanics of Dualistic Models: "Comparable" Structures and Comparative Statics Results," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, EconSciences Journals, vol. 1(2), pages 150-185, December.
    10. Sirin Saracoglu, 2015. "The linkages between formal and informal sectors: A segmented labor markets analysis," EcoMod2015 8603, EcoMod.
    11. Indranil Ghosh & Tamal Datta Chaudhuri, 2017. "Fractal Investigation and Maximal Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transformation (MODWT)-based Machine Learning Framework for Forecasting Exchange Rates," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 5(2), pages 105-131, December.
    12. Harry Moroz & Mariana Viollaz, 2024. "The Future of Work in Central America and the Dominican Republic," World Bank Publications - Reports 42043, The World Bank Group.
    13. José Gabriel Palma, 2014. "Has the Income Share of the Middle and Upper-middle Been Stable around the ‘50/50 Rule’, or Has it Converged towards that Level? The ‘Palma Ratio’ Revisited," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(6), pages 1416-1448, November.
    14. José Gabriel Palma, 2014. "Has the income share of the middle and upper-middle been stable over time, or is its current homogeneity across the world the outcome of a process of convergence? The 'Palma Ratio' revisited," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1437, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    15. Martins, Ana Paula, 2014. "The Mechanics of Dualistic Models: "Comparable" Structures and Comparative Statics Results," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 150-185.
    16. Alberto Posso & Aaron Soans, 2014. "The rise of the machines: Capital imports and real manufacturing wages in 57 nations," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 862-877, September.
    17. D. M. Nachane & Prasad Ranade, 1998. "India's trade balance in the 1980s an econometric analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 761-774.
    18. Daniel Amente Kenea & Girma Teshome, 2024. "Revisiting The National Reform And Its Institutionalization In Ethiopia," Annals of the University of Craiova for Journalism, Communication and Management, Department of Communication, Journalism and Education Sciences, University of Craiova, vol. 10(1), pages 119-150, December.
    19. Dani Rodrik, 1993. "Trade and Industrial Policy Reform in Developing Countries: A Review of Recent Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 4417, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Vezza, Evelyn & Zunino,Gonzalo & Laguinge,Luis & Moroz, Harry Edmund & Apella, Ignacio Raul & Spivack, Marla Hillary, 2025. "Understanding Labor Market Demand in Real Time in Argentina and Uruguay," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11086, The World Bank.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

    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:aea:aerins:v:7:y:2025:i:1:p:56-70. 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: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.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.