Does turnover inhibit specialization? Evidence from a skill survey in Peru
A new survey of occupational skills in Peru to investigate human capital differences between poor and rich countries.
Abstract
The authors design, pilot, and held a new survey of occupational skills in Peru, to investigate human capital differences between poor and rich countries. Though the average skill level is comparable, Peruvian jobs have markedly more uniform skill profiles than jobs in the USA. However, matching frictions are no more severe than in the USA, and recruiting technology is largely equivalent as well. A model with complementarities in production offers a plausible explanation. Uncertainty about labour availability, more pronounced in poor countries’ turbulent labour markets, destabilizes production. This generates an endogenous labour demand preference for unspecialized workers.
This is an output of the Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG) programme.
Citation
Atencio de Leon A, Lee M and Macalus C. ‘Does turnover inhibit specialization? Evidence from a skill survey in Peru’ Structural Transformation and Economic Growth (STEG) WP087, 2024
Links
Does turnover inhibit specialization? Evidence from a skill survey in Peru