Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
The Specificity of Human Capital Investment under Agent Heterogeneity and Market Frictions: Theory and Empirics by Tomáš Jagelka (Ecole Polytechnique – CREST) Comments by Filippo Gregorini (Eurostat – European Commission) LIS/LWS Users Conference 2017 Esch-sur-Alzette, 27 April 2017 For a model there is no need to ask the question "Is the model true?" If "truth" is to be the "whole truth" the answer must be "No" The only question of interest is "Is the model illuminating and useful?" • George Box, 1978 Labour Market Assumptions 1. Specific vs general skills: general ones more "adaptable" 2. Rigidity -> Frictions (unemployment) -> (Investment in) specific skills • No clear evidence on point 2 Theoretical Model - Definition 1. "Talent augments workers' productivity (if they invest in general skills)" • Aren't we talking about having good soft skills? Theoretical Model – Info / Timing 2. …"worker (who also knows his own "talent") chooses his investment in human capital…anticipating the outcome in term of wages and job duration"… • Skills to be acquired ex-ante • (Correct) self-selection • Anticipating labour market outcomes OR • labour market frictions (skills mismatch?) due to self-selection bias? Theoretical Model - Info 3. Do firms observe the "marginal productivity of workers" at the time of hiring? • If yes, no adverse selection (at the time of hiring) and neither moral hazard (afterwards) Theoretical Model - Adaptation 3. More talented (more soft-skilled) who invested in general skills can support a wider range of shocks while maintaining a productive match Empirical Model – Job finding rate • Transition probability rates http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statisticsexplained/index.php/Labour_market_flow_statistics_in_the_EU (1/2) Empirical Model – Job finding rate • Beveridge curve (2/2) http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statisticsexplained/index.php/Job_vacancy_and_unemployment_rates_-_Beveridge_curve Empirical Results – Edu System(s) • The German education system is semi-rigid (with differences at Länder level) and the labour market is performing well. • Even restricting the analysis at European level we observe heterogeneity in both the two dimensions: rigidity of the educational system and labour market performance. "Is the model illuminating and useful?" • Interesting topics (for me in particular) • "Talent" (however defined) in relation to labour market • Few studies on this because of limited data availability http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-statisticalworking-papers/-/KS-TC-16-023