Working Paper: NBER ID: w29302
Authors: Costas Cavounidis; Vittoria DiCandia; Kevin Lang; Raghav Malhotra
Abstract: We develop a tractable general equilibrium model for understanding within- and between-occupation changes in skill use over time. We apply the model to skill-use measures from the third, fourth, and revised fourth editions of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and data from the 1960, 1970, and 1980 Censuses and March Current Population Surveys. We recover changes in skill productivity by exploiting between-occupation movements. Most importantly, finger-dexterity productivity grew rapidly while abstract-skill productivity lagged. We leverage these findings to estimate an inelastic relation between abstract and routine inputs and explain within-occupation shifts in skill use.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J01; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Technological changes (O33) | Finger dexterity productivity (J24) |
| Technological changes (O33) | Abstract skill productivity (D24) |
| Finger dexterity productivity (J24) | Employment shifts towards occupations requiring more finger dexterity (J29) |
| Abstract skill productivity (D24) | Employment shifts towards occupations requiring abstract skills (J24) |
| Changes in productivity within jobs (J29) | Overall employment patterns (J29) |
| Skill-enhancing technological change (O33) | Allocation of workers to different occupations (J29) |