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Income Inequality, Skills And Trade: Evidence From Colombia During The 80s And 90s

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  • Mauricio Santamaría

Abstract

This paper investigates the evolution of labor income inequality in Colombia in the period 1978-98. Main findings are the secular fall of the returns to intermediate skill and the increases of wages for highly educated people and for women. Such changes are associated with shifts of the skill composition of the labor force and with skill biased technical change, rather than with increased openness of the economy. The paper uses a skill supply and demand framework to arrive to these conclusions, and also a non-parametric decomposition exercise is carried out.

Suggested Citation

  • Mauricio Santamaría, 2004. "Income Inequality, Skills And Trade: Evidence From Colombia During The 80s And 90s," Documentos CEDE 2832, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000089:002832
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    File URL: https://repositorio.uniandes.edu.co/bitstream/handle/1992/8691/dcede2004-02.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. DiNardo, John & Fortin, Nicole M & Lemieux, Thomas, 1996. "Labor Market Institutions and the Distribution of Wages, 1973-1992: A Semiparametric Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(5), pages 1001-1044, September.
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    5. Juhn, Chinhui & Murphy, Kevin M & Pierce, Brooks, 1993. "Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(3), pages 410-442, June.
    6. Bound, John & Johnson, George, 1992. "Changes in the Structure of Wages in the 1980's: An Evaluation of Alternative Explanations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 371-392, June.
    7. Richard B. Freeman, 1975. "Overinvestment in College Training?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 10(3), pages 287-311.
    8. Krugman, Paul R., 2000. "Technology, trade and factor prices," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 51-71, February.
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    10. William R. Cline, 1997. "Trade and Income Distribution," Peterson Institute Press: All Books, Peterson Institute for International Economics, number 58, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Medina-Durango, Carlos Alberto & Posso Suárez, Christian Manuel & Tamayo, Jorge A. & Monsalve, Emma, 2012. "Dinámica de la demanda laboral en la industria manufacturera colombiana 1993-2009 : una estimación panel VAR," Chapters, in: Arango-Thomas, Luis Eduardo & Hamann-Salcedo, Franz Alonso (ed.), El mercado de trabajo en Colombia : hechos, tendencias e instituciones, chapter 7, pages 289-330, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    2. Carlos Medina & Christian Manuel Posso Suárez, 2010. "Technical Change and Polarization of the Labor Market: Evidence for Brazil, Colombia and Mexico," Borradores de Economia 7269, Banco de la Republica.
    3. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Laslopova, Lubica & Zeynalova, Olesia, 2020. "The Elasticity of Substitution between Skilled and Unskilled Labor: A Meta-Analysis," MetaArXiv 7z2uh, Center for Open Science.
    4. Julio Romero, 2008. "Diferencias sociales y regionales en el ingreso laboral de las principales ciudades colombianas, 2001-2004," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, November.
    5. Tomas Havranek & Zuzana Irsova & Lubica Laslopova & Olesia Zeynalova, 2020. "Skilled and Unskilled Labor Are Less Substitutable than Commonly Thought," Working Papers IES 2020/29, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, revised Sep 2020.
    6. World Bank, 2005. "Labor Market Adjustment, Reform and Productivity in Colombia : What are the Factors that Matter? Volume 2 : Technical Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 8406, The World Bank Group.
    7. Carmiña O. Vargas, 2011. "Desigualdad de salarios en Colombia: evidencia a partir de encuestas de hogares 1984 -2010," Borradores de Economia 661, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Skills;

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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