Learning and Wage Dynamics

S-Tier
Journal: Quarterly Journal of Economics
Year: 1996
Volume: 111
Issue: 4
Pages: 1007-1047

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

We develop a dynamic model of learning about worker ability in a competitive labor market. The model produces three testable implications regarding wage dynamics: (1) although the role of schooling in the labor market's inference process declines as performance observations accumulate, the estimated effect of schooling on the level of wages is independent of labor-market experience; (2) timeinvariant variables correlated with ability but unobserved by employers ( such as certain test scores) are increasingly correlated with wages as experience increases; and (3) wage residuals are a martingale. We present evidence from the NLSY that is broadly consistent with the model's predictions.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:qjecon:v:111:y:1996:i:4:p:1007-1047.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25