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Talent, labor quality, and economic development

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Abstract

We develop a theory of labor quality based on (i) the division of the labor force> between unskilled and skilled workers and (ii) investments in skilled workers. In our> theory, countries differ in two key dimensions: talent and total factor productivity> (TFP). We measure talent using the observed achievement levels from the Programme> for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores. Our findings imply that the qual-> ity of labor in rich countries is about twice as large as the quality in poor countries.> Thus, the implied disparities in TFP levels are smaller relative to the standard growth> model using a measure of labor quality based on Mincer returns. In our model, the> resulting elasticity of output per worker with respect to TFP is about 2.

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  • German Cubas & B. Ravikumar & Gustavo Ventura, 2013. "Talent, labor quality, and economic development," Working Papers 2013-027, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2013-027
    DOI: 10.20955/wp.2013.027
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic development; Education - Economic aspects; Labor productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • E10 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - General

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