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Down from the Mountain: Skill Upgrading and Wages in Appalachia

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  • Christopher Bollinger
  • James P. Ziliak
  • Kenneth R. Troske

Abstract

The Appalachian region has experienced persistently higher poverty and lower earnings than the rest of the United States. We examine whether skill differentials or differences in the returns to those skills lie at the root of the Appalachian wage gap. Using census data, we decompose the Appalachian wage gap using both mean and full distribution methods. Our findings suggest that significant upgrading of skills within the region has prevented the gap from widening over the last 20 years. Additionally we find that urban areas within Appalachia have not experienced the rise in returns to skills as in non-Appalachian urban areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher Bollinger & James P. Ziliak & Kenneth R. Troske, 2011. "Down from the Mountain: Skill Upgrading and Wages in Appalachia," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(4), pages 819-857.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/660773
    DOI: 10.1086/660773
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    6. Manuel Arellano & Stéphane Bonhomme, 2017. "Sample Selection in Quantile Regression: A Survey," Working Papers wp2018_1702, CEMFI.
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    9. Manuel Arellano & Stéphane Bonhomme, 2017. "Sample Selection in Quantile Regression: A Survey," Working Papers wp2017_1702, CEMFI.
    10. Josh Blonz & Brigitte Roth Tran & Erin E. Troland, 2023. "The Canary in the Coal Decline: Appalachian Household Finance and the Transition from Fossil Fuels," NBER Working Papers 31072, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Partridge, Mark & Betz, Mike, 2012. "Country Road Take Me Home: Migration Patterns in the Appalachia America and Place-Based Policy," MPRA Paper 38293, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. T. M. Tonmoy Islam & Jenny Minier & James P. Ziliak, 2015. "On Persistent Poverty in a Rich Country," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 81(3), pages 653-678, January.
    13. Shiyang Li & Huasheng Zhu, 2020. "Agglomeration Externalities and Skill Upgrading in Local Labor Markets: Evidence from Prefecture-Level Cities of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-15, August.
    14. Theodore F. Figinski & Erin Troland, 2020. "Health Insurance and Hospital Supply: Evidence from 1950s Coal Country," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2020-033, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    15. Yifan Gong & Todd Stinebrickner & Ralph Stinebrickner & Yuxi Yao, 2022. "The Role of Non-Pecuniary Considerations: Locations Decisions of College Graduates from Low Income Backgrounds," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20221, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    16. Biewen, Martin & Fitzenberger, Bernd & Seckler, Matthias, 2020. "Counterfactual quantile decompositions with selection correction taking into account Huber/Melly (2015): An application to the German gender wage gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    17. Jonathan Eyer & Matthew E. Kahn, 2017. "Prolonging Coal’s Sunset: The Causes and Consequences of Local Protectionism for a Declining Polluting Industry," NBER Working Papers 23190, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J4 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets

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