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Human Capital Prices, Productivity and Growth

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  • Bowlus, Audra J.
  • Robinson, Chris

Abstract

Separate identification of the price and quantity of human capital has important implications for understanding key issues in economics. Price and quantity series are derived for four education levels. The price series are highly correlated and they exhibit a strong secular trend. Three resulting implications are explored: the rising college premium is found to be driven more by relative quantity than relative price changes, life-cycle wage profiles are readily interpretable as reflecting optimal human capital investment paths using the estimated price series, and adjusting the labor input for quality increases dramatically reduces the contribution of MFP to growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Bowlus, Audra J. & Robinson, Chris, 2011. "Human Capital Prices, Productivity and Growth," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2011-32, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 22 Dec 2011.
    • Handle: RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2011-32
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    File URL: http://www.clsrn.econ.ubc.ca/workingpapers/CLSRN%20Working%20Paper%20no.%2089%20-%20Bowlus%20and%20Robinson.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human Capital; Productivity and Growth;

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence

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