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Firm Dynamics and Occupational Choice

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  • Koelle, Michael

Abstract

I look at the dynamics of firms when investment decisions interact with occupational choice. To model the implications for firm survival and growth, I extend a neoclassical growth model by an endogenous shutdown condition that is driven by the reservation wage in alternative employment. This model is able to generate multiple steady-state equilibria that arise through convexities in the optimal growth path of a firm. I provide empirical evidence consistent with the model predictions using panel data from urban Colombia. I also structurally estimate the model to identify the wage function in a way that is robust to occupational choices being driven by particular wage offers that are observed as subsequent outcomes. The findings are useful for understanding heterogeneous economic decisions of the large number of self-employed small firm owners in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Koelle, Michael, 2016. "Firm Dynamics and Occupational Choice," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145813, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc16:145813
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. George J. Stigler, 1962. "Information in the Labor Market," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 94-105, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    3. A. D. Roy, 1951. "Some Thoughts On The Distribution Of Earnings," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 135-146.
    4. Tavneet Suri, 2011. "Selection and Comparative Advantage in Technology Adoption," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 79(1), pages 159-209, January.
    5. Roback, Jennifer, 1982. "Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 90(6), pages 1257-1278, December.
    6. Geert Ridder & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2003. "Measuring Labor Market Frictions: A Cross-Country Comparison," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(1), pages 224-244, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Brück, Tilman & Mahe, Clotilde & Naudé, Wim, 2018. "Return Migration and Self-Employment: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan," IZA Discussion Papers 11332, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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