Rise of the 'Quants' in Financial Services: Regulation and Crowding Out of Routine Jobs
53 Pages Posted: 8 Aug 2018 Last revised: 28 Aug 2020
Date Written: July 22, 2018
Abstract
We document three stylized facts regarding employment in financial services: (a) the share of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workers grew by 30% between 2011 and 2017; (b) while the earnings premium of working in finance has grown, the STEM premium in finance has declined since 2011; and (c) regulatory restrictions in the financial services have grown faster than other sectors. We investigate three economic mechanisms underlying the employment patterns: (a) capital-skill complementarity, (b) relabeling of non-STEM into STEM degree programs, and (c) regulation. We show that only the rise in regulation can explain these joint dynamics.
Keywords: fintech, financial services, STEM workers, regulation, STEM
JEL Classification: G21, G23, G38, J23, J31
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