Skill Premium, Labor Supply and Changes in the Structure of Wages in Latin America

Manuel Fernandez Sierra and Julian Messina

No 10718, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: Earnings inequality declined rapidly in Argentina, Brazil and Chile during the 2000s. A reduction in the experience premium is a fundamental driver of declines in upper-tail (90/50) inequality, while a decline in the education premium is the primary determinant of the evolution of lower-tail (50/10) inequality. Relative labor supply is important for explaining changes in the skill premiums. Relative demand trends favored high-skilled workers during the 1990s, shifting in favor of low-skilled workers during the 2000s. Changes in the minimum wage, and more importantly, commodity-led terms of trade improvements are key factors behind these relative skill demand trends.

Keywords: earnings inequality; unconditional quantile regressions; supply-demand framework; human capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J20 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 57 pages
Date: 2017-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lam and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Published - published in: Journal of Development Economics, 2018, 135, 555-573

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Related works:
Journal Article: Skill premium, labor supply, and changes in the structure of wages in Latin America (2018)
Working Paper: Skill Premium, Labor Supply and Changes in the Structure of Wages in Latin America (2017)
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