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How General Is Specific Human Capital?

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Author Info
Christina Gathmann () (Stanford University and IZA Bonn)
Uta Schönberg () (University of Rochester and IZA Bonn)

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Abstract

Previous studies assume that labor market skills are either fully general or specific to the firm. This paper uses patterns in mobility and wages to analyze how portable specific skills are in the labor market. The empirical analysis combines data on tasks performed in different jobs with a large panel on complete working histories and wages. Our results demonstrate that labor market skills are partially transferable across occupations. We find that individuals move to occupations with similar task requirements and that the distance of moves declines with time in the labor market. Further, tenure in the last occupation affects current wages, and the effect is stronger if the two occupations are similar. Our estimates suggest that taskspecific human capital is the most important source of wage growth for university graduates. For the low- and medium-skilled, returns to task human capital are also sizeable, though smaller than for labor market experience.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 2485.

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Length: 57 pages
Date of creation: Dec 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2485

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Related research
Keywords: specific skills; occupations; wage growth; mobility;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Gielen, A. C., 2007. "Performance Pay, Training and Labor Mobility," Discussion Paper 2007-48, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Shintaro Yamaguchi, 2007. "Career and Skill Formation: A Dynamic Occupational Choice Model with Multidimensional Skills," Department of Economics Working Papers 2007-02, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Hoyt Bleakley & Jeffrey Lin, 2007. "Thick-market effects and churning in the labor market: evidence from U.S. cities," Working Papers 07-23, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. [Downloadable!]
  4. Bachmann, Ronald & Burda, Michael C., 2008. "Sectoral Transformation, Turbulence, and Labor Market Dynamics in Germany," IZA Discussion Papers 3324, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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