Job Mobility and the Market for Lawyers

Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 106, No. 1, February 1998

Posted: 3 Feb 1998

See all articles by Robert M. Sauer

Robert M. Sauer

University of London - Royal Holloway College

Abstract

This paper studies the life cycle career choices of law school graduates using unique data from the University of Michigan Law School. The model assumes that these graduates act according to the optimal solution of a dynamic optimization problem in which they sequentially choose among five employment sectors. The employment sectors are differentiated by pecuniary and non-pecuniary returns, promotion and dismissal probabilities, and the extent of transferability of human capital. The estimation of the model reveals a self-selection mechanism, based on unobserved heterogeneity in abilities and expected future returns, which plays a critical role in reproducing the sector-specific non-monotonic separation hazards observed in the data. The underlying self-selection mechanism also has implications for policy interventions in the market for lawyers, such as loan forgiveness programs.

JEL Classification: J44, J61, J62, J24, J31, K00

Suggested Citation

Sauer, Robert M., Job Mobility and the Market for Lawyers. Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 106, No. 1, February 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=54242

Robert M. Sauer (Contact Author)

University of London - Royal Holloway College ( email )

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