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Human Capital and Search Models: A Happy Match

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  • Thierry Magnac

Abstract

We review a tractable model of human capital investments that can accommodate lots of heterogeneity and we investigate its compatibility with some job search and equilibrium wage models that have been proposed in the literature. We show that the log wage equation derived from the combination of these set-ups is additively separable in the process of human capital investments and the dynamic effects of the job ladder under a few conditions among which strict liquidity constraints and exogeneity of search are prominent. This is the case in particular with the popular model proposed by Bagger et al. [2014] in which the predicted wage equation can be generalized to accommodate richer heterogeneous effects due to endogenous human capital accumulation. JEL Codes: D31, I24, J24, J31, J64.

Suggested Citation

  • Thierry Magnac, 2024. "Human Capital and Search Models: A Happy Match," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 75(1), pages 11-29.
    • Handle: RePEc:cai:recosp:reco_751_0011
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    human capital; job search; wage inequalities; applied econometrics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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