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The Human Capital Stock: A Generalized Approach. Comment

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  • Caselli, Francesco
  • Ciccone, Antonio
Abstract
Jones (2014) considers development accounting when workers with different schooling are imperfect substitutes. His main result is that, using plausible values for the elasticity of substitution between workers with different educational attainment, measured human capital variation can be boosted to the point that factors of production account for the totality of the variation in income across countries. We show that the amplification of cross-country human capital differences achieved by Jones, and hence his success at removing the unexplained component of income differences, is entirely due to an assumption that the relative wage of skilled workers is solely determined by attributes of workers (once the supply of skilled workers is accounted for). If, as we argue, skill premia are also influenced by technology, institutions, and other features of the economic environment, cross-country differences in human capital as measured by Jones will embed differences in these technological, institutional, and other attributes. As a result, Jones's conclusion that human capital can account for all the variation in income across countries is unwarranted.

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  • Caselli, Francesco & Ciccone, Antonio, 2017. "The Human Capital Stock: A Generalized Approach. Comment," CEPR Discussion Papers 12451, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12451
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    Cited by:

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    3. Rainer Kotschy & Uwe Sunde & Tommaso MonacelliManaging Editor, 2018. "Can education compensate the effect of population ageing on macroeconomic performance?," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 33(96), pages 587-634.
    4. Eran Yashiv, 2020. "Moving from a Poor Economy to a Rich One: The Contradictory Roles of Technology and Job Tasks," Discussion Papers 2010, Centre for Macroeconomics (CFM).
    5. Jerzmanowski, Michał & Tamura, Robert, 2023. "Aggregate elasticity of substitution between skills: estimates from a macroeconomic approach," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(6), pages 1597-1627, September.
    6. Jan Trenczek & Konstantin M. Wacker, 2023. "Accounting for cross-country output differences: A sectoral CES perspective," Working Papers 2023.09, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    7. Jean Mercenier & Ebru Voyvoda, 2021. "On barriers to technology adoption, appropriate technology and European integration," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 157(3), pages 669-702, August.
    8. Mark Bils & Bariş Kaymak & Kai-Jie Wu, 2024. "Labor Substitutability among Schooling Groups," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 1-34, October.
    9. Bilqees Ghani & Muhammad Zada & Khalid Rasheed Memon & Rezwan Ullah & Afraseyab Khattak & Heesup Han & Antonio Ariza-Montes & Luis Araya-Castillo, 2022. "Challenges and Strategies for Employee Retention in the Hospitality Industry: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-26, March.
    10. Katharine G. Abraham & Justine Mallatt, 2022. "Measuring Human Capital," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 103-130, Summer.
    11. Ma, Xiao & Nakab, Alejandro & Zhang, Yiran, 2023. "Skill Acquisition and the Gains from Trade: A Cross-country Quantitative Analysis," MPRA Paper 117808, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Werner Pena & Christian Siegel, 2023. "Routine-biased technical change, structure of employment, and cross-country income differences," Studies in Economics 2301, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    13. Alexander Monge-Naranjo & Juan M. Sanchez & Raul Santaeulalia-Llopis & Faisal Sohail, 2019. "Should Capital Flow from Rich to Poor Countries?," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 101(4), pages 277-295.
    14. Campbell, Susanna G. & Üngör, Murat, 2020. "Revisiting human capital and aggregate income differences," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 43-64.
    15. Mr. Alberto Behar, 2023. "The Elasticity of Substitution Between Skilled and Unskilled Labor in Developing Countries: A Directed Technical Change Perspective," IMF Working Papers 2023/165, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Amparo Castello-Climent & Rafael Domenech, 2024. "Convergence in human capital and income," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 44(2), pages 652-661.
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    18. Sangmin Aum & Dongya Koh & Raül Santaeulàlia-Llopis, 2018. "Growth Facts with Intellectual Property Products: An Exploration of 31 OECD New National Accounts," Working Papers 1029, Barcelona School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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