The premium for skilled labor in the Roman world

Seth Bernard

Explorations in Economic History, 2024, vol. 91, issue C

Abstract: Romans rewarded skill in material terms, and wage data reflects this. This study develops a method for understanding the return on skilling in the Roman period, starting from internal pay scales observed in Egyptian documents. These data reveal a modal premium of 100 and mean of 74. Roman-period returns on training compare favorably with evidence from outside Egypt, especially detailed pay scales in Diocletian's Price Edict, thus suggesting a broader Empire-wide premium. This Roman skill premium is then compared with a selection of data from other premodern periods, which show that the relative price of skill in ancient Rome was not historically atypical, despite the particularly high levels of enslavement and urbanization characteristic of the Roman economy. The return on investments in training during the Empire can be seen to reflect both numeracy practices and developing market conditions for skill.

Keywords: Ancient Rome; Ancient Mediterranean; Labor market; Skilled labor; Skill premium; Urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:exehis:v:91:y:2024:i:c:s0014498323000104

DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2023.101516

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