Path Dependence and Occupations

Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein ()

No 3, Carlo Alberto Notebooks from Collegio Carlo Alberto

Abstract: Path dependence in occupations refers to the observed occupational distribution in a population or in a sub-population at a point in time that depends on changes that occurred years or centuries earlier. Path dependence in occupations can be the outcome of the cumulative concentration of certain productive activities in specific regions over time, it can emerge through the effect of parental income or wealth on offspring’s occupations and incomes, or it can be the outcome of group effects. Some historical cases are selected to illustrate the various mechanisms through which path dependence in occupations can emerge or disappear.

Keywords: path dependence; occupational structure; social norms; trade diasporas; Jewish occupational selection; feminization of occupations; African-American occupational transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 J2 J6 J7 N3 O1 Z12 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 17 pages
Date: 2006
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Forthcoming in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

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Working Paper: Path Dependence and Occupations (2006)
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