The AI-Driven Skill Premium: A Model of Positional Scarcity and Cognitive Traps

Manuel A. Hidalgo-Pérez ()
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Manuel A. Hidalgo-Pérez: Universidad Pablo de Olavide

No 26.01, Working Papers from Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper models the impact of Generative AI on labor inequality by endogenizing technological complementarity (β) as a function of human capital (h) and supervision costs (σ). I introduce "Positional Capital" (W) -workers' material conditions'- as a key determinant of adaptation capacity, showing how precarity generates transition traps. The framework accounts for the "expert paradox", cognitive decapitalization through AI dependency, and the micro-macro productivity disconnect. Calibrated simulations indicate that the wage inequality ratio rises from 1.33x to 2.12x within a decade under current technological trajectories.

Keywords: Generative AI; Technological Complementarity; Inequality; Positional Capital; Cognitive Decapitalization. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J31 J62 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59 pages
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ain, nep-lma and nep-neu
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