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Can capital-skill complementarity explain the rising skill premium in developing countries? evidence from Peru

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  • Joy Mazumdar
  • Myriam Quispe-Agnoli

Abstract

The factors behind the increase in the relative wages of skilled workers in developing countries are still not well understood. The authors use data from Peru to analyze the determinants of within-industry share of skilled workers. They use a translog cost function for gross output and are therefore able to incorporate the effects of materials, both domestic and imported, in addition to capital. The authors find that capital accumulation can explain a large fraction of the increase in the wage bill share and relative wages of skilled labor. This finding is contrary to the commonly held view that unobservable technological change is responsible for the rising skill premium in both developing and developed economies. A test for separability indicates that a gross output cost function is the appropriate one to use, and therefore share equations based on value-added cost functions could be misspecified.

Suggested Citation

  • Joy Mazumdar & Myriam Quispe-Agnoli, 2004. "Can capital-skill complementarity explain the rising skill premium in developing countries? evidence from Peru," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2004-11, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
  • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:2004-11
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Goel, Manisha, 2017. "Inequality Between and Within Skill Groups: The Curious Case of India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 153-176.
    2. Yasar, Mahmut & Rejesus, Roderick M., 2020. "International linkages, technology transfer, and the skilled labor wage share: Evidence from plant-level data in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    3. Justin Caron & Thibault Fally & James Markusen, 2021. "Per capita income and the demand for skills," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: BROADENING TRADE THEORY Incorporating Market Realities into Traditional Models, chapter 12, pages 251-268, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Messinis, George & Ahmed, Abdullahi D., 2013. "Cognitive skills, innovation and technology diffusion," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 565-578.
    5. Alberto Posso & Aaron Soans, 2014. "The rise of the machines: Capital imports and real manufacturing wages in 57 nations," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 862-877, September.
    6. Jauhari, Azmafazilah Binti & khalifah, noor, 2018. "Trade Linkages and Skill Demand: Empirical Evidence for the Malaysian Electrical and Electronics Industries," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 52(1), pages 89-103.
    7. Akay, Gokhan H. & Yuksel, Mutlu, 2009. "Capital-Skill Complementarity: Evidence from Manufacturing Industries in Ghana," IZA Discussion Papers 4674, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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