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Do MincerianWage Equations Inform How Schooling Influences Productivity?

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  • Christian Groth

    (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen)

  • Jakub Growiec

    (SGH Warsaw School of Economics)

Abstract

We study the links between the Mincerian wage equation (the crosssectional relationship between wages and years of schooling) and the human capital production function (the causal effect of schooling on labor productivity). Based on a stylized Mincerian general equilibrium model with imperfect substitutability across skill types and ex ante identical workers, we demonstrate that the mechanism of compensating wage differentials renders the Mincerian wage equation uninformative for the human capital production function. Proper identification of the human capital production function should take into account the equilibrium allocation of individuals across skill types.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Groth & Jakub Growiec, 2017. "Do MincerianWage Equations Inform How Schooling Influences Productivity?," Discussion Papers 17-12, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kuiedp:1712
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Growiec, Jakub & Groth, Christian, 2015. "On aggregating human capital across heterogeneous cohorts," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 21-38.
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    Cited by:

    1. Łukasz Jabłoński, 2021. "Ewolucja podejść do kapitału ludzkiego w naukach ekonomicznych," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 91-120.
    2. Jablonowski Janusz, 2021. "Internal Rate of Return on Investment in Higher Education in Europe," Wroclaw Review of Law, Administration & Economics, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mincerian wage equation; human capital production function; skill distribution; compensating wage differentials; golden rule of skill formation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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