Working Paper: NBER ID: w18693
Authors: Changtai Hsieh; Erik Hurst; Charles I. Jones; Peter J. Klenow
Abstract: Over the last 50 years, there has been a remarkable convergence in the occupational distribution between white men, women, and blacks. We measure the macroeconomic consequences of this convergence through the prism of a Roy model of occupational choice in which women and blacks face frictions in the labor market and in the accumulation of human capital. The changing frictions implied by the observed occupational convergence account for 15 to 20 percent of growth in aggregate output per worker since 1960.
Keywords: Occupational Distribution; Economic Growth; Labor Market Frictions; Human Capital
JEL Codes: J70; O40
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| changing frictions faced by women and blacks in the labor market (J79) | growth in aggregate output per worker (O40) |
| reductions in occupational barriers (J68) | increased participation of women in high-skilled occupations (J21) |
| reductions in occupational barriers (J68) | real wage increases for white women (J79) |
| reductions in occupational barriers (J68) | real wage increases for black women (J79) |
| reductions in occupational barriers (J68) | real wage increases for black men (J79) |
| reductions in occupational barriers (J68) | wage decrease for white men (J79) |
| decline in occupational frictions (J29) | rise in women's labor force participation (J21) |