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Does Turnover Inhibit Specialization? Evidence from a Skill Survey in Peru

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Atencio-De-Leon
  • Munseob Lee
  • Claudia Macaluso

Abstract

We design, pilot, and field a new survey of occupational skills in Peru, to investigate human capital differences between poor and rich countries. Though the average skill level is comparable, Peruvian jobs have markedly more uniform skill profiles than jobs in the US. However, matching frictions are no more severe than in the US, and recruiting technology is largely equivalent as well. A model with complementarities in production offers a plausible explanation. Uncertainty about labor availability, more pronounced in poor countries' turbulent labor markets, destabilizes production. This generates an endogenous labor demand preference for unspecialized workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Atencio-De-Leon & Munseob Lee & Claudia Macaluso, 2023. "Does Turnover Inhibit Specialization? Evidence from a Skill Survey in Peru," CESifo Working Paper Series 10844, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10844
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    2. Anne O. Krueger, 1983. "Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 3: Synthesis and Conclusions," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number krue83-1.
    3. Anne O. Krueger, 1983. "Trade and Employment in Less Developed Countries: The Questions," NBER Chapters, in: Trade and Employment in Developing Countries, Volume 3: Synthesis and Conclusions, pages 1-9, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cross-country productivity differences; human capital; labor reallocation;
    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
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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