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Jacob Mincer, Experience and the Distribution of Earnings

In: Jacob Mincer A Pioneer of Modern Labor Economics

Author

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  • Barry R. Chiswick

    (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Abstract

This paper reviews Jacob Mincer’s contributions to the analyses of earnings and the distribution of earnings through his pioneering focus on labor market experience or on-the-job training. It begins with a brief discussion of the theoretical literature on the distribution of earnings in the pre-Mincer period, and then discusses his analysis of human capital and earnings developed in his 1957 doctoral dissertation and 1958 Journal of Political Economy (JPE) article. Further analyses of on-the-job training, and in particular estimates of the rate of return from on-the-job training, are presented in his 1962 JPE paper. The synergy between Mincer and Becker during the 1960s is discussed, as is the development of the schooling-earnings function by Becker and Chiswick (1966). Mincer (1974) extended this relationship by incorporating experience to form the “human capital earnings function” in his Schooling, Experience and Earnings (1974). Subsequent modifications, extensions, tests of robustness and the wide applicability of the human capital earnings functions are presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Barry R. Chiswick, 2006. "Jacob Mincer, Experience and the Distribution of Earnings," Springer Books, in: Shoshana Grossbard (ed.), Jacob Mincer A Pioneer of Modern Labor Economics, chapter 10, pages 109-126, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-0-387-29175-8_10
    DOI: 10.1007/0-387-29175-X_10
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gary S. Becker, 1962. "Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 9-49, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Murphy, Kevin M & Welch, Finis, 1990. "Empirical Age-Earnings Profiles," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(2), pages 202-229, April.
    3. Jacob Mincer & Solomon Polachek, 1974. "Family Investments in Human Capital: Earnings of Women," NBER Chapters, in: Marriage, Family, Human Capital, and Fertility, pages 76-110, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Barry R. Chiswick, 1974. "Income Inequality: Regional Analyses within a Human Capital Framework," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number chis74-1.
    5. Chiswick, Barry R, 1978. "The Effect of Americanization on the Earnings of Foreign-born Men," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 897-921, October.
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    25. W. Lee Hansen, 1970. "Education, Income, and Human Capital," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number hans70-1.
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    27. Chiswick, Carmel U, 1983. "Analysis of Earnings from Household Enterprises: Methodology and Application to Thailand," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(4), pages 658-662, November.
    28. Barry R. Chiswick, 1988. "Differences in Education and Earnings Across Racial and Ethnic Groups: Tastes, Discrimination, and Investments in Child Quality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 103(3), pages 571-597.
    29. Sherwin Rosen, 1992. "Distinguished Fellow: Mincering Labor Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 157-170, Spring.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor Market; Human Capital; Human Capital Investment; Annual Earning; Labor Market Experience;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B21 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Microeconomics
    • 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
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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