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Title: Plant Productivity Dispersion and the College Premium: Evidence from the United States 1977–1997

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2015

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Abstract: In this paper I study the correlation between the college wage premium and productivity dispersion across plants. The identification relies on variations in trends across five broadly defined industries in the United States between the late 1970s and the 1990s. I estimate that an increase in the standard deviation across plants of log-sales-per-worker by 10 log-points is associated with an increase in the college wage premium by 20 log-points. The findings are consistent with theoretical models that stress the roles of rising returns to sorting and college graduates' enhanced ability to sort across plants in explaining the surge in the college wage premium between the 1970s and the 1990s. for helpful comments. The usual disclaimer applies.

Url: http://www.damir.stijepic.com/skill_dispersion.pdf

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Authors: Stijepic, Damir

Publisher: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Education, Labor Force and Occupational Structure

Countries: United States