Market Thickness and the Early Labor Market Career of University Graduates- An urban advantage?

Lina Ahlin, Martin Andersson and Per Thulin ()

No 2013/2, Papers in Innovation Studies from Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research

Abstract: We analyze the influence of market thickness for skills on initial wages and subsequent wage development of university graduates. Using Swedish micro-level panel data on a cohort of graduates, we show that two out of three graduates move to large cities upon graduation. Large cities yield higher rewards to human capital and a stronger early job market career. The premium on initial wages for urban graduates is in the interval of 6-12 percent, and we estimate a wage-growth premium of about 3 percent. Thicker markets for skills appear as a key reason for the concentration of university graduates to larger cities.

Keywords: human capital; university graduates; urban wage premium; market thickness; matching; agglomeration economies; migration; job switching (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 J61 R10 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2013-02-14
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hrm, nep-lab, nep-lma, nep-mig and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Market Thickness and the Early Labour Market Career of University Graduates: An Urban Advantage? (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2013_002

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