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Elasticities of Demand for Educated Labor and Elasticities of Supply of Educated Labor

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  • Richard B. Freeman

Abstract

This paper reviews a variety of estimates of the demand and supply elasticities of educated labor. It finds that elasticities of substitution between more and less educated labor range fran 1.0 to 2.0 and that elasticities of the supply of students to colleges are also on the order of 1.0 to 2.0 while elasticities of supply to specific professions are on the order of 2.0 to 3.0. With elasticities of this magnitude, wages and employment depend on both supply and demand factors, with shifts of either schedule influencing both market outcome variables.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard B. Freeman, 1982. "Elasticities of Demand for Educated Labor and Elasticities of Supply of Educated Labor," NBER Working Papers 1042, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:1042
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel S. Hamermesh & James Grant, 1979. "Econometric Studies of Labor-Labor Substitution and Their Implications for Policy," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 14(4), pages 543-562.
    2. Welch, F, 1970. "Education in Production," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(1), pages 35-59, Jan.-Feb..
    3. Psacharopoulos, George & Hinchliffe, Keith, 1972. "Further Evidence on the Elasticity of Substitution among Different Types of Educated Labor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(4), pages 786-792, July-Aug..
    4. Griliches, Zvi, 1969. "Capital-Skill Complementarity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 51(4), pages 465-468, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Evan Munro & Stefan Wager & Kuang Xu, 2021. "Treatment Effects in Market Equilibrium," Papers 2109.11647, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2023.

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