Human Capital Accumulation, Education and Earnings Inequality
Journal
Applied Economic Journal
ISSN
1611-6607
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2008-03
Author(s)
Sunde, Uwe
Abstract
This paper attempts to add to the understanding of the causes for the differing recent developments in inequality in OECD countries. The similarity of shocks and technological changes affecting these countries suggests that interactions of these shocks and country-specific institutions are responsible for the diverging inequality patterns. The paper suggests a channel complementary to those investigated in recent contributions, focusing on the impact of education. A microfoundation of human capital formation is proposed, emphasizing heterogeneity of individuals and multidimensionality of human capital. The reactions in individual behavior triggered by technological change are crucially affected by the education system and are shown to be responsible for the divergent developments in inequality.
Language
English
Keywords
Inequality
ability biased technological change
education system
human capital formation
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Duncker & Humbolt
Publisher place
Berlin
Volume
54
Number
1
Start page
7
End page
26
Pages
20
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
51540