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Why Didn't the College Premium Rise Everywhere? Employment Protection and On-the-Job Investment in Skills

Author

Listed:
  • Doepke, Matthias

    (Northwestern University)

  • Gaetani, Ruben

    (University of Toronto)

Abstract

Why has the college wage premium risen rapidly in the United States since the 1980s, but not in European economies such as Germany? We argue that differences in employment protection can account for much of the gap. We develop a model in which firms and workers make relationship-specific investments in skill accumulation. The incentive to invest is stronger when employment protection creates an expectation of long-lasting matches. We argue that changes in the economic environment have reduced relationship-specific investment for less-educated workers in the United States, but not for better-protected workers in Germany.

Suggested Citation

  • Doepke, Matthias & Gaetani, Ruben, 2020. "Why Didn't the College Premium Rise Everywhere? Employment Protection and On-the-Job Investment in Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 13325, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13325
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiao Ma & Alejandro Nakab & Daniela Vidart, 2024. "Human Capital Investment and Development: The Role of On-the-Job Training," Journal of Political Economy Macroeconomics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 107-148.
    2. Andrew Mountford & Jonathan Wadsworth, 2023. "‘Good jobs’, training and skilled immigration," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 851-881, July.
    3. Diego Daruich & Sabrina Di Addario & Raffaele Saggio, 2023. "The Effects of Partial Employment Protection Reforms: Evidence from Italy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(6), pages 2880-2942.
    4. Xiao Ma & Alejandro Nakab & Daniela Vidart, 2022. "How do Workers Learn? Theory and Evidence on the Roots of Lifecycle Human Capital Accumulation," Working papers 2022-11, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2024.
    5. Trouvain, Florian, 2024. "Technology Adoption, Innovation, and Inequality in a Global World," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302377, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    job-specific skills; employment protection; college wage premium;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • 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
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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