This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

India's Increasing Skill Premium: Role of Demand and Supply

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Azam, Mehtabul () (Southern Methodist University)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The tertiary-secondary (college-high school) wage premium has been increasing in India over the past decade, but the increase differs across age groups. The increase in wage premium has been driven mostly by younger age groups, while older age groups have not experienced any significant increase. This paper uses the demand and supply model with imperfect substitution across age groups developed in Card and Lemieux (2001) to explain the uneven increase in the wage premium across age groups in India. The findings of this paper are that the increase in the wage premium has come mostly from demand shifts in favor of workers with a tertiary education. More importantly, the demand shifts occurred in both the 1980s and 1990s. Relative supply has played an important role not only determining the extent of increase in wage premium, but also its timing. The increase in relative supply of tertiary workers during 1983-1993 offset the demand shift, limiting the wage premium increase. But during 1993-1999, the growth rate of the relative supply of tertiary workers decelerated, while relative supply was virtually stagnant during 1999-2004. Both of these periods saw an increase in the wage premium as the countervailing supply shift was weak.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp3968.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3968.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 37 pages
Date of creation: Jan 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3968

Contact details of provider:
Postal: IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 228 3894 223
Fax: +49 228 3894 180
Web page: http://www.iza.org

Order Information:
Postal: IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Mark Fallak).

Related research
Keywords: India; wage premium; tertiary (college); secondary (high school);

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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.:
  1. Jorge Saba Arbache & Andy Dickerson & Francis Green, 2004. "Trade Liberalisation and Wages in Developing Countries," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(493), pages F73-F96, 02. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 7-72, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Angrist, Joshua D, 1996. "Short-Run Demand for Palestinian Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(3), pages 425-53, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Gaurav Datt & Martin Ravallion, 2002. "Is India's Economic Growth Leaving the Poor Behind?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 89-108, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Angus Deaton & Jean Dreze, 2002. "Poverty and Inequality in India: A Re-Examination," Working Papers 184, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies.. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Puja Vasudeva Dutta, 2005. "Accounting for Wage Inequality in India," PRUS Working Papers 29, Poverty Research Unit at Sussex, University of Sussex. [Downloadable!]
  7. David Card & Thomas Lemieux, 2000. "Can Falling Supply Explain the Rising Return to College for Younger Men? A Cohort-Based Analysis," NBER Working Papers 7655, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Marco Manacorda & Carolina Sanchez-Paramo & Norbert Schady, 2005. "Changes in Returns to Education in Latin America: the Role of Demand and Supply of Skills," CEP Discussion Papers dp0712, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  9. Katz, Lawrence F. & Autor, David H., 1999. "Changes in the wage structure and earnings inequality," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1463-1555 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Prachi Mishra & Utsav Kumar, 2005. "Trade Liberalization and Wage Inequality: Evidence from India," IMF Working Papers 05/20, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Pavcnik, Nina, 2003. "What explains skill upgrading in less developed countries?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 311-328, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. David Card & John E. DiNardo, 2002. "Skill-Biased Technological Change and Rising Wage Inequality: Some Problems and Puzzles," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(4), pages 733-783, October. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Kevin M. Murphy & W. Craig Riddell & Paul M. Romer, 1998. "Wages, Skills, and Technology in the United States and Canada," NBER Working Papers 6638, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Juhn, Chinhui & Murphy, Kevin M & Pierce, Brooks, 1993. "Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(3), pages 410-42, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS also computes impact factors for journals and working paper series.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-9.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.