Why Didn't the College Premium Rise Everywhere? Employment Protection and On-the-Job Investment in Skills

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Doepke, Matthias; Gaetani, Ruben
• 署名单位: University of London; London School Economics & Political Science; Northwestern University; University of Toronto
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MACROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7707
• DOI: 10.1257/mac.20210120268
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 268-309
• 关键词: wage inequality; LABOR; unemployment; TECHNOLOGY; experience; seniority; mobility; turnover; returns; demand

摘要

Why has the college wage premium risen rapidly in the United States since the 1980s but not in European economies such as Germany? We argue that differences in employment protection can account for much of the gap. We develop a model in which firms and workers make relationship-specific investments in skill accumulation. The incentive to invest is stronger when employment protection creates an expecta-tion of long-lasting matches. We argue that changes in the economic environment have reduced relationship-specific investment for less educated workers in the United States, but not for better-protected workers in Germany.