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on Neuroeconomics |
| By: | Woessmann, Ludger (University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | The multitude of tasks performed in the labor market requires skills in many dimensions. Traditionally, human capital has been proxied primarily by educational attainment. However, an expanding body of literature highlights the importance of various skill dimensions for success in the labor market. This paper examines the returns to cognitive, personality, and social skills as three important dimensions of basic skills. Recent advances in text analysis of online job postings and professional networking platforms offer novel methods for assessing a wider range of applied skill dimensions and their labor market relevance. A synthesis and integration of the evidence on the relationship between multidimensional skills and earnings, including the matching of skill supply and demand, will enhance our understanding of the role of human capital in the labor market. |
| Keywords: | skills, human capital, education, labor market, earnings, tasks, cognitive skills, personality, social skills, multidimensional skills |
| JEL: | J24 I26 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17395 |
| By: | Jonas Jessen (WZB, IAB, IZA, Berlin School of Economics); Lavinia Kinne (DIW Berlin, Berlin School of Economics, University of Potsdam); Michele Battisti (University of Glasgow) |
| Abstract: | Child penalties in labour market outcomes are well-documented: after childbirth, mothers’ employment and earnings drop persistently compared to fathers. Beyond gender norms, a potential driver could be the loss in labour market skills due to mothers’ longer employment interruptions. This paper estimates child penalties in adult cognitive skills by adapting the pseudo-panel approach to a single cross-section of 29 countries in the PIAAC dataset. We find a persistent drop in numeracy skills after childbirth for both parents between 0.13 (short-run) and 0.16 standard deviations (long-run), but no statistically significant difference between mothers and fathers. Estimates of child penalties in skills strongly depend on controlling for pre-determined characteristics, especially education. Additionally, there is no evidence for worse occupational skill matches for mothers after childbirth. Our findings suggest that changes in general labour market skills cannot explain child penalties in labour market outcomes, and that a cross-sectional estimation of child penalties can be sensitive to characteristics of the outcome variable. |
| Keywords: | child penalty, cognitive skills, gender inequality, PIAAC |
| JEL: | I20 J13 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pot:cepadp:81 |