The elasticity of substitution between skilled and unskilled labor in developing countries: A directed technical change perspective

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Behar, Alberto
• 署名单位: International Monetary Fund
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2024.103411
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Skill-biased technical change; Elasticity of substitution; Skill premium; INEQUALITY; Growth accounting

摘要

I develop a model of endogenous skill-biased technical change in developing countries. The endogenous response to a rise in skill supply counters the traditional substitution effect and dampens supply's role in reducing wage inequality. The model reinforces consensus estimates of the elasticity of substitution between more/less educated workers by reconciling dispersed existing estimates. It also rationalizes estimates that were hitherto deemed implausible or theory-inconsistent. I produce new estimates for developing countries with a new global panel and with Latin American data (that facilitates analysis of dynamics). Many estimated elasticity values are almost 2. This sheds new light on a parameter that is crucial for inequality, growth, and other key macroeconomic questions.