The Relative Efficiency of Skilled Labor across Countries: Measurement and Interpretation

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2022
Volume: 112
Issue: 1
Pages: 235-66

Score contribution per author:

8.073 = (α=2.02 / 1 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

I study how the relative efficiency of high- and low-skill labor varies across countries. Using microdata for countries at different stages of development, I document that differences in relative quantities and wages are consistent with high-skill workers being relatively more productive in rich countries. I exploit variation in the skill premia of foreign-educated migrants to discriminate between two possible drivers of this pattern: cross-country differences in the skill bias of technology and in the relative human capital of skilled labor. I find that the former is quantitatively more important, and discuss the implications of this result for development accounting.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:112:y:2022:i:1:p:235-66
Journal Field
General
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-29