IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fip/fedawp/103489.html

Innovation Booms, Easy Financing, and Human Capital Accumulation

Author

Abstract

Innovation booms are often fueled by easy financing, allowing new technology firms to pay high wages that attract skilled labor. Studying the information and communication technology (ICT) boom in the late 1990s, we show that high-skill workers who joined the ICT sector during the boom experienced sizeable long-term earnings losses. These earnings patterns stem from accelerated skill obsolescence rather than worker selection or the subsequent bust in the ICT sector. Moreover, during the boom, financing disproportionately flowed to firms whose workers would later experience the largest productivity declines, amplifying the negative effect of labor reallocation on aggregate human capital accumulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Hombert & Adrien Matray, 2026. "Innovation Booms, Easy Financing, and Human Capital Accumulation," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2026-8, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:103489
    DOI: 10.29338/wp2026-08
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a
    for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leonid Kogan & Dimitris Papanikolaou & Lawrence D. W. Schmidt & Jae Song, 2020. "Technological Innovation and Labor Income Risk," NBER Working Papers 26964, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Michelacci, Claudio & Schivardi, Fabiano, 2020. "Are they all like Bill, Mark, and Steve? The education premium for entrepreneurs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    3. Antonio Falato & Dalida Kadyrzhanova & Jae Sim & Roberto Steri, 2022. "Rising Intangible Capital, Shrinking Debt Capacity, and the U.S. Corporate Savings Glut," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(5), pages 2799-2852, October.
    4. Paul Beaudry & David A. Green & Benjamin M. Sand, 2016. "The Great Reversal in the Demand for Skill and Cognitive Tasks," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S1), pages 199-247.
    5. Thomas Philippon & Ariell Reshef, 2012. "Wages and Human Capital in the U.S. Finance Industry: 1909--2006," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(4), pages 1551-1609.
    6. Kahn, Lisa B., 2010. "The long-term labor market consequences of graduating from college in a bad economy," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 303-316, April.
    7. Joseph G. Altonji & Lisa B. Kahn & Jamin D. Speer, 2016. "Cashier or Consultant? Entry Labor Market Conditions, Field of Study, and Career Success," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(S1), pages 361-401.
    8. Leonid Kogan & Dimitris Papanikolaou & Lawrence D.W. Schmidt & Bryan Seegmiller, 2023. "Technology and Labor Displacement: Evidence from Linking Patents with Worker-Level Data," NBER Working Papers 31846, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1991. "The Allocation of Talent: Implications for Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 503-530.
    10. Glenn Ellison & Edward L. Glaeser & William R. Kerr, 2010. "What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(3), pages 1195-1213, June.
    11. Andrea L. Eisfeldt & Dimitris Papanikolaou, 2013. "Organization Capital and the Cross-Section of Expected Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(4), pages 1365-1406, August.
    12. E. Han Kim & Paige Ouimet, 2014. "Broad-Based Employee Stock Ownership: Motives and Outcomes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 1273-1319, June.
    13. Burcu Eyigungor, 2010. "Specific Capital and Vintage Effects on the Dynamics of Unemployment and Vacancies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(3), pages 1214-1237, June.
    14. Christopher Huckfeldt, 2022. "Understanding the Scarring Effect of Recessions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(4), pages 1273-1310, April.
    15. Samuel Kortum & Josh Lerner, 2000. "Assessing the Contribution of Venture Capital to Innovation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 31(4), pages 674-692, Winter.
    16. David J Deming & Kadeem Noray, 2020. "Earnings Dynamics, Changing Job Skills, and STEM Careers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 1965-2005.
    17. Antoinette Schoar & Luo Zuo, 2017. "Shaped by Booms and Busts: How the Economy Impacts CEO Careers and Management Styles," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(5), pages 1425-1456.
    18. Shai Bernstein, 2015. "Does Going Public Affect Innovation?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 1365-1403, August.
    19. Nanda, Ramana & Rhodes-Kropf, Matthew, 2013. "Investment cycles and startup innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 403-418.
    20. Johan Hombert & Adrien Matray, 2017. "The Real Effects of Lending Relationships on Innovative Firms and Inventor Mobility," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(7), pages 2413-2445.
    21. Ouimet, Paige & Zarutskie, Rebecca, 2014. "Who works for startups? The relation between firm age, employee age, and growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(3), pages 386-407.
    22. Greenwood, Robin & Nagel, Stefan, 2009. "Inexperienced investors and bubbles," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 239-258, August.
    23. Steven Callander, 2011. "Searching and Learning by Trial and Error," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2277-2308, October.
    24. Paul Beaudry & Mark Doms & Ethan Lewis, 2010. "Should the Personal Computer Be Considered a Technological Revolution? Evidence from U.S. Metropolitan Areas," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(5), pages 988-1036.
    25. Gârleanu, Nicolae & Kogan, Leonid & Panageas, Stavros, 2012. "Displacement risk and asset returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 491-510.
    26. Bladimir Carrillo, 2020. "Present Bias and Underinvestment in Education? Long-Run Effects of Childhood Exposure to Booms in Colombia," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(4), pages 1127-1265.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hombert, Johan & Matray, Adrien, 2019. "Technology Boom, Labor Reallocation, and Human Capital Depreciation," CEPR Discussion Papers 14136, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    2. Johan Hombert & Adrien Matray, 2019. "Technology Boom, Labor Reallocation, and Human Capital Depreciation," Working Papers 260, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    3. Johan Hombert & Adrien Matray, 2019. "The Long-Term Consequences of the Tech Bubble on Skilled Workers' Earnings," Working Papers 255, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    4. Russell Weinstein, 2022. "Local Labor Markets and Human Capital Investments," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(5), pages 1498-1525.
    5. Jaison R. Abel & Richard Deitz, 2017. "Underemployment in the Early Careers of College Graduates following the Great Recession," NBER Chapters, in: Education, Skills, and Technical Change: Implications for Future US GDP Growth, pages 149-181, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Maloney,William F. & Zambrano,Andrés, 2021. "Learning to Learn : Experimentation, Entrepreneurial Capital, and Development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9890, The World Bank.
    7. Ufuk Akcigit & William Kerr, 2015. "Growth through Heterogeneous Innovation, Second Version," PIER Working Paper Archive 15-020, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 25 Mar 2015.
    8. Guo, Junjie, 2022. "The persistent impact of multiple offers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Lucchetti, Gabriele & Ruggieri, Alessandro, 2025. "Unlucky migrants: Scarring effect of recessions on the assimilation of the foreign born," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    10. Bostan, Ibrahim & Mian, G. Mujtaba, 2024. "Inventor CEOs and financing of innovation: Evidence from IPOs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    11. Arellano-Bover, Jaime & Bussotti, Carolina & Nunley, John M. & Seals, R. Alan, 2026. "Unbundling the effects of college on first-job search: Returns to majors, minors, and extracurriculars," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    12. Baghai, Ramin & Silva, Rui & Ye, Luofu, 2018. "Teams and Bankruptcy," CEPR Discussion Papers 13198, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    13. J. Carter Braxton & Bledi Taska, 2025. "Technological Change and Insuring Job Loss," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 58, October.
    14. Brad Hershbein & Lisa B. Kahn, 2018. "Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(7), pages 1737-1772, July.
    15. William Arbour & David J. Price, 2025. "What Occupations Do," Working Papers tecipa-800, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    16. Garrett Anstreicher & Lois Miller, 2024. "Who Scars the Easiest? College Quality and the Effects of Graduating into a Recession," Working Papers 24-47, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    17. Chen, Jie & Lasfer, Meziane & Song, Wei & Zhou, Si, 2021. "Recession managers and mutual fund performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    18. Johannes Goehausen & Stephan L. Thomsen, 2026. "Early career effects of entering the labor market during higher education expansion," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 39(4), pages 1-33, December.
    19. Cronqvist, Henrik & Siegel, Stephan & Yu, Frank, 2015. "Value versus growth investing: Why do different investors have different styles?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 333-349.
    20. Kim, Sun Hyung, 2023. "The importance of social skills in recovery from graduating in a recession," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 387-411.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • 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
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:103489. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Rob Sarwark (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/frbatus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.