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Wages, Human Capital, and Structural Transformation

Author

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  • Berthold Herrendorf
  • Todd Schoellman

Abstract

Average wages are considerably lower in agriculture than in the other sectors. We document this fact for thirteen countries ranging from rich (Canada, U.S.) to poor (India, Indonesia). We develop a measure of human capital that accounts for the selection of workers with different unobserved skills into sectors. We find that differences in human capital account for most of the wage gaps. We develop a model that rationalizes this finding and that allows us to quantify the distortions to the allocation of labor. We find that they are considerably smaller than typically claimed in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Berthold Herrendorf & Todd Schoellman, 2017. "Wages, Human Capital, and Structural Transformation," CESifo Working Paper Series 6426, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6426
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cai, Wenbiao, 2015. "Structural change accounting with labor market distortions," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 54-64.
    2. Xue, Jianpo & Yip, Chong K., 2018. "Home production, balanced-budget taxation and economic (in)stability," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 231-242.
    3. Douglas Gollin & Martina Kirchberger & David Lagakos, 2017. "In Search of a Spatial Equilibrium in the Developing World," NBER Working Papers 23916, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. David Lagakos & Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak & Michael E. Waugh, 2023. "The Welfare Effects of Encouraging Rural–Urban Migration," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 91(3), pages 803-837, May.
    5. Joan Hamory & Marieke Kleemans & Nicholas Y Li & Edward Miguel, 2021. "Reevaluating Agricultural Productivity Gaps with Longitudinal Microdata," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1522-1555.
    6. Berthold Herrendorf & Christopher Herrington & Ákos Valentinyi, 2015. "Sectoral Technology and Structural Transformation," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 104-133, October.
    7. Federico Rossi, 2019. "The Relative Efficiency of Skilled Labor across Countries: Measurement and Interpretation," 2019 Meeting Papers 829, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    8. Pedro Cavalcanti Ferreira & Alexander Monge-Naranjo & Luciene Torres de Mello Pereira, 2016. "Of Cities and Slums," Working Papers 2016-22, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    9. Tomasz Swiecki, 2017. "Determinants of Structural Change," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 24, pages 95-131, March.
    10. Duernecker, Georg & Herrendorf, Berthold, 2018. "On the allocation of time – A quantitative analysis of the roles of taxes and productivities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 169-187.
    11. Berthold Herrendorf & Todd Schoellman, 2015. "Why is Measured Productivity so Low in Agriculture?," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 18(4), pages 1003-1022, October.
    12. Wenbiao Cai, 2016. "Risk, Selection and Productivity Differences," Departmental Working Papers 2016-02, The University of Winnipeg, Department of Economics.
    13. John Bailey Jones & Sangeeta Pratap, 2020. "An Estimated Structural Model of Entrepreneurial Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(9), pages 2859-2898, September.
    14. Porzio, T. & Santangelo, G., 2019. "Does Schooling Cause Structural Transformation?," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1925, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    15. Todd Schoellman & Bart Hobijn, 2017. "Structural Transformation by Cohort," 2017 Meeting Papers 1417, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    16. Khalid El Fayoumi & Gregory Auclair, 2019. "The Role of Labor Market Frictions in Structural Transformation," Working Papers 1282, Economic Research Forum, revised 2019.
    17. Berthold Herrendorf & Todd Schoellman, 2018. "Wages, Human Capital, and Barriers to Structural Transformation," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    human capital gaps; misallocation of labor; wage gaps;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General

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