Working Paper: NBER ID: w12989
Authors: Paul Oyer
Abstract: I study the human capital development and firm-worker matching processes for PhD economists. This group is useful for this purpose because the types of jobs they hold can be easily categorized and they have an observable productivity measure (that is, publications.) I derive a two-period model to motivate an empirical analysis of economist job matching upon graduation, matching ten years later, and productivity in the first ten years. I show that matching to a higher ranked institution affects productivity. I present evidence that employers improve their estimates of economists' ability early in their career in a way that determines longer-term job placement. I also find that the initial placement of economists to institutions does not show much evidence of systematic misallocation along observable characteristics.
Keywords: Employer Learning; Human Capital Development; Job Matching; Economists
JEL Codes: J24; J44; M51
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| initial job placements (J68) | early career productivity (J24) |
| initial placements (Y20) | systematic misallocation (D61) |
| matching to a higher-ranked institution (I23) | increased productivity (O49) |
| first-period productivity (D29) | second-period job sector (J29) |