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Estimating Occupation and Location Specific Wages over the Life Cycle

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  • Elias Ilin
  • Ellyn Terry

Abstract

In this paper we develop a novel method to project location specific life cycle wages for all occupations listed in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. Our method builds on the commonly used Mincer equation and improves it by providing a more nuanced relationship between years of experience and wages while also incorporating occupation and location specific factors. Our method consists of two steps. In the first step, we use individual level data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to estimate the average number of years of experience associated with each percentile of the wage distribution. In the second step, we map this estimated average years of experience to the wage level percentiles reported in the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data for each occupation and area. Finally, we develop a model capable of projecting the trajectory of wages across all possible years of experience for each occupation in the OEWS data.

Suggested Citation

  • Elias Ilin & Ellyn Terry, 2022. "Estimating Occupation and Location Specific Wages over the Life Cycle," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 12(2), pages 46-60, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:mth:ber888:v:12:y:2022:i:2:p:46-60
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Congressional Budget Office, 2019. "The Effects on Employment and Family Income of Increasing the Federal Minimum Wage," Reports 55410, Congressional Budget Office.
    2. David Lagakos & Benjamin Moll & Tommaso Porzio & Nancy Qian & Todd Schoellman, 2018. "Life Cycle Wage Growth across Countries," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(2), pages 797-849.
    3. Doruk Cengiz & Arindrajit Dube & Attila Lindner & Ben Zipperer, 2019. "The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(3), pages 1405-1454.
    4. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1.
    5. James J. Heckman & Lance J. Lochner & Petra E. Todd, 2003. "Fifty Years of Mincer Earnings Regressions," NBER Working Papers 9732, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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