Partial Specialization and Heterogeneous Task Assignments

Chen Liu

American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2026, vol. 18, issue 2, 112-47

Abstract: I develop a general equilibrium model featuring multidimensional skills and partial specialization in tasks to quantify the impact of several determinants on within-occupation inequality growth from 1980 to 2000. The model introduces a new mechanism by which demand shifts affect inequality: Workers within the same occupation perform multiple and different tasks. I structurally estimate the model using microdata and account for inequality growth due to three sources: changes in occupation demand, changes in the task content of occupations, and changes in labor composition. My findings indicate that changes in task content explain the majority of within-occupation inequality growth.

JEL-codes: D63 J21 J22 J23 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1257/mac.20230209

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