Firm Heterogeneity in Skill Returns

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Labor Economics
Year: 2025
Volume: 43
Issue: 3
Pages: 695 - 723

Authors (3)

Michael J. Böhm (not in RePEc) Khalil Esmkhani (not in RePEc) Giovanni Gallipoli (University of British Columbia)

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

We quantify firm heterogeneity in skill returns and present direct evidence of worker-firm complementarities. Within a model of firms’ demand for cognitive and noncognitive attributes, we show that identification depends on the availability of skill measures. Linking administrative data to test scores, we document worker sorting and convex earnings-skill relationships. We find that (1) both skills’ returns vary substantially across employers and correlate weakly within firms; (2) workers with large endowments of a skill populate firms with higher returns to it, and sorting intensifies with the cross-sectional dispersion of returns; and (3) complementarities and sorting significantly influence the earnings distribution.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/729103
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25