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Skill Premium, Labor Supply and Changes in the Structure of Wages in Latin America

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  • Fernández, Manuel
  • Messina, Julián

Abstract

Earnings inequality declined rapidly in Argentina, Brazil and Chile during the 2000s. A reduction in the experience premium is a fundamental driver of declines in upper-tail (90/50) inequality, while a decline in the education premium is the primary determinant of the evolution of lower-tail (50/10) inequality. Relative labor supply is important for explaining changes in the skill premiums. Relative demand trends favored high-skilled workers during the 1990s, shifting in favor of low-skilled workers during the 2000s. Changes in the minimum wage, and more importantly, commodity-led terms of trade improvements are key factors behind these relative skill demand trends.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernández, Manuel & Messina, Julián, 2017. "Skill Premium, Labor Supply and Changes in the Structure of Wages in Latin America," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8219, Inter-American Development Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:idb:brikps:8219
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0011788
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    Cited by:

    1. Bhalotra, Sonia & Fernandez Sierra, Manuel, 2018. "The distribution of the gender wage gap," ISER Working Paper Series 2018-10, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    2. Berthelon, Matías & Contreras, Dante & Kruger, Diana & Palma, María Isidora, 2025. "Early maternity and paternity. Effects on educational trajectories," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    3. Dávila, Andrés O. & Fernandez Sierra, Manuel & Zuleta, Hernando, 2021. "The Natural Resource Boom and the Uneven Fall of the Labor Share," IZA Discussion Papers 14592, IZA Network @ LISER.
    4. Manuel Fern√°ndez & Gabriela Serrano, 2022. "New Perspectives on Inequality in Latin America," Documentos CEDE 20295, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    5. Lebow, Jeremy, 2024. "Immigration and occupational downgrading in Colombia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    6. 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.
    7. Fernández, Manuel & Messina, Julián, 2018. "Skill premium, labor supply, and changes in the structure of wages in Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 555-573.
    8. Carlos Rodríguez‐Castelán & Luis Felipe López‐Calva & Nora Lustig & Daniel Valderrama, 2022. "Wage inequality in the developing world: Evidence from Latin America," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 1944-1970, November.
    9. Henrique Z. Motte & Rodrigo Oliveira, 2020. "The effect of class assignment on academic performance and the labour market: Evidence from a public federal university in Brazil," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-8, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    10. Behar, Alberto, 2025. "The elasticity of substitution between skilled and unskilled labor in developing countries: A directed technical change perspective," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    11. Sergio Pinheiro Firpo & Alysson Lorenzon Portella, 2024. "The labor market in Brazil, 2001–2022," World of Labour, LISER, pages 4412-4412, April.
    12. Birulin, Oleksii & Parfinenko, Nina & Smirnov, Vladimir & Wait, Andrew, 2019. "Signaling and the College Wage Premium," Working Papers 2019-14, University of Sydney, School of Economics, revised Nov 2019.
    13. John H.Y. Edwards, 2024. "Education Quality, Income Inequality, and Female Labor Force Participation in Brazil," Working Papers 2409, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    14. Birulin, Oleksii & Smirnov, Vladimir & Wait, Andrew, 2020. "The evolving nature of the college wage premium," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 474-479.
    15. Chu, Yihe & Li, Yujia & Che, Ming, 2024. "Population aging and the dynamics of the skill income gap: An analysis of a multiple mediation effect," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    16. Gustavo Canavire-Bacarreza & Luis C. Carvajal-Osorio, 2020. "Two Stories of Wage Dynamics in Latin America: Different Policies, Different Outcomes," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 128-168, June.
    17. Quiñones, Mauricio & Posso, Christian M. & Mancera, Nicolas & Duque, Juan C. & Medina, Carlos A., 2023. "Intragenerational mobility and the concept of the equalization of longer-term incomes: An estimation for a developing country," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    18. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Laslopova, Lubica & Zeynalova, Olesia, 2020. "The Elasticity of Substitution between Skilled and Unskilled Labor: A Meta-Analysis," MPRA Paper 102598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Bhalotra, Sonia & Fernandez, Manuel & Wang, Fan, 2022. "The Distribution of the Gender Wage Gap: An Equilibrium Model," CEPR Discussion Papers 17253, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Motte Henrique & Oliveira Rodrigo, 2020. "The effect of class assignment on academic performance and the labour market: Evidence from a public federal university in Brazil," WIDER Working Paper Series wp2020-8, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    21. Campos-González, Jorge & Balcombe, Kelvin, 2024. "The race between education and technology in Chile and its impact on the skill premium," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    22. Julian Messina & Joana Silva, 2018. "Wage Inequality in Latin America," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 28682, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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