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Skill-biased technological change and intergenerational education mobility

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  • Aziz, Imran

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of skill-biased technological change (SBTC) on intergenerational education mobility. I set up an SBTC model with an overlapping-generations framework, where high and low-income households invest in their children’s skill development. Technology incentivizes these investments by raising the skill-premium and improving life-skills; it constrains investments by increasing inequality. I find that, for SBTC shocks within a critical range, intergenerational investments by both household-types are higher in the new steady-state, with the relative increase being larger for the low-income group. I use cross-U.S. commuting-zone data to examine if education mobility outcomes are better in locations characterized by (1) higher STEM-shares, and (2) larger shifts in the demand of relative skills. I empirically find that children from low-income households are not only more likely to attend college if they live in high-tech areas, but this likelihood increases by a larger margin compared to children from higher-income households.

Suggested Citation

  • Aziz, Imran, 2024. "Skill-biased technological change and intergenerational education mobility," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:103:y:2024:i:c:s0272775724000906
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102596
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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