We develop and estimate an equilibrium job search model of worker careers, allowing for human capital accumulation, employer heterogeneity and individual-level shocks. Wage growth is decomposed into contributions of human capital and job search, within and between jobs. Human capital accumulation is largest for highly educated workers. The contribution from job search to wage growth, both within- and between-job, declines over the first ten years of a career – the ‘job-shopping’ phase of a working life – after which workers settle into high-quality jobs using outside offers to generate gradual wage increases, thus reaping the benefits from competition between employers.
Find the working paper here.
Authors
![Jean-Marc Robin](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-07/Jean-Marc%20Robin.jpg?itok=umZw1Ufv)
Research Fellow Sciences Po and University College London
Jean-Marc is a Research Fellow of the IFS and a Professor of Economics at Sciences Po, Paris, and University College London.
![Fabien Postel-Vinay](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-08/Fabien_Postel_Vinay.jpg?itok=SxifXr7k)
CPP Co-Director, IFS Research Director
Fabien is an IFS Research Director and a Professor of Economics at UCL. His work’s focus is on labour markets.
![Person graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/IFS-person-graphic.png?itok=hWCtTSrz)
Jesper Bagger
![Person graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/IFS-person-graphic.png?itok=hWCtTSrz)
Francois Fontaine
Journal article details
- DOI
- 10.1257/aer.104.6.1551
- Publisher
- American Economic Association
- Issue
- June 2015
Suggested citation
Bagger, J et al. (2015). 'Tenure, experience, human capital, and wages: a tractable equilibrium search model of wage dynamics' (2015)
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