Document Type

Working Paper

Date of This Version

2-1-2005

Keywords

externality, human capital, social returns to education, spillover, wages

Abstract

In a search model of production, where agents accumulate heterogenous amounts of human capital, an individual worker’s wage depends on average human capital in the searching population. Based on this model, this paper estimates a Mincerian wage equation augmented with terms for average human capital. The authors find that there is a positive and significant spillover effect, but that the effect differs by gender and population group, as well as educational status. The differing spillover effects can only partially be explained by occupational choice.

Working Paper Number

0503

Included in

Economics Commons

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