Wage growth of less educated workers: the importance of social skills

Philippe Aghion, Antonin Bergeaud, Richard Blundell and Rachel Griffith
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Philippe Aghion: CdF (institution) - Collège de France, INSEAD - Institut Européen d'administration des Affaires, LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Antonin Bergeaud: HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research
Rachel Griffith: University of Manchester [Manchester], Institute for Fiscal Studies, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research

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Abstract: We use matched employee–employer data from the UK to investigate the importance of social skills – in particular, teamwork and communication with co‐workers – as a driver of wage growth for workers with lower formal education. We find that in social skill tasks, a significant fraction of less educated workers enjoy wage progression with tenure, and higher returns in firms with more educated co‐workers. We rationalise these dynamics through a model in which social skills – initially opaque to both employee and employer – are learned about over time through complementarity with co‐workers.

Date: 2026-09
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Published in Fiscal Studies, 2026, ⟨10.1111/1475-5890.70036⟩

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Working Paper: Wage growth of less educated workers: the importance of social skills (2026)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-05837077

DOI: 10.1111/1475-5890.70036

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