Putting Tasks to the Test: Human Capital, Job Tasks, and Wages
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Autor_Putting tasks.pdf
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Author(s)
Autor, David H.
Handel, Michael J.
Date Issued
April 2013
Journal
Journal of Labor Economics
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Citation
Autor, David H., and Michael J. Handel. “Putting Tasks to the Test: Human Capital, Job Tasks, and Wages.” Journal of Labor Economics 31, no. 2, pt. 2 (April 2013): S59–S96. © 2013 University of Chicago.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Using original, representative survey data, we document that analytical, routine, and manual job tasks can be measured with high validity, vary substantially within and between occupations, are significantly related to workers’ characteristics, and are robustly predictive of wage differences between occupations and among workers in the same occupation. We offer a conceptual framework that makes explicit the causal links between human capital endowments, occupational assignment, job tasks, and wages, which motivate a Roy model of the allocation of workers to occupations. We offer two simple tests of the model’s gross predictions for the relationship between tasks and wages, both of which receive qualified empirical support.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1086/669332
