The Human Side of Structural Transformation

92 Pages Posted: 18 Aug 2020

See all articles by Tommaso Porzio

Tommaso Porzio

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Economics

Federico Rossi

University of Warwick

Gabriella Santangelo

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 1, 2020

Abstract

We show that the global human capital increase during the 20th-century contributed to structural transformation. We document that almost half of the decline in aggregate agricultural employment was driven by new birth cohorts entering the labor market. We use data on educational attainment and compile a comprehensive list of policy reforms to interpret the differences in agricultural employment across cohorts. We find that the increase in schooling led to a sharp reduction in the agricultural labor supply by equipping younger cohorts with skills more valued out of agriculture. Interpreted through an equilibrium model of frictional labor reallocation, these facts imply that human capital growth accounts for about 20% of the global decline in agricultural employment.

Suggested Citation

Porzio, Tommaso and Rossi, Federico and Santangelo, Gabriella, The Human Side of Structural Transformation (July 1, 2020). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP15110, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3674886

Tommaso Porzio (Contact Author)

Columbia University - Columbia Business School, Economics ( email )

420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
United States

Federico Rossi

University of Warwick ( email )

Gibbet Hill Rd.
Coventry, West Midlands CV4 8UW
United Kingdom

Gabriella Santangelo

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
1
Abstract Views
661
PlumX Metrics