Productivity Growth and Workers’ Job Transitions: Evidence from Census Microdata

A-Tier
Journal: Economic Journal
Year: 2025
Volume: 135
Issue: 666
Pages: 405-429

Score contribution per author:

0.804 = (α=2.01 / 5 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

We use administrative data for Chile to provide novel insights on the relationship between job transitions and productivity differentials and quantify how different groups contribute to aggregate reallocation. While on average workers move to more productive firms, almost half of transitions are ‘down the productivity ladder’. Reallocation gains are mostly explained by a narrow subset of transitions: young, high-skilled workers generate the lion’s share of aggregate productivity gains. Workers with high turnover contribute proportionally the least. Therefore, while job reallocation yields a net benefit, it hides massive and heterogeneous gross flows, with many appearing to add little to aggregate efficiency.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:econjl:v:135:y:2025:i:666:p:405-429.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
5
Added to Database
2026-01-25