Showing papers by "Institute for the Study of Labor published in 1975"

Human Capital and Labor Supply: A Synthesis

Abstract: It is by now widely recognized that investment decisions play a major role in the determination of individual age-earnings profiles. The purpose of this paper is to present a simple life-cycle model of investment in human capital in which leisure choices are explicitly incorporated. In so doing, we integrate two previously disparate branches of life-cycle theory: models of labor supply with exogenous wages, and models of human capital formation with exogenous leisure. Of course, to accomplish this, we must posit utility maximization as the individual's goal rather than income maximization.

Education: Consumption or Production

Abstract: It can be claimed that education is simply a normal consumption good and that like all other normal goods, an increase in wealth will produce an increase in the amount of schooling purchased. Increased incomes are associated with higher schooling attainment as the simple result of an income effect. If this is so, schooling increases an individual's wealth only by the consumption value of the good, since it is a non-saleable asset. This paper will attempt to determine empirically the amount by which an increase in wealth is caused by schooling as distinguished from the amount by which the demand for schooling increases as the result of an increase in wealth.

Schooling as a Wage Depressant

Abstract: We investigate the relationship between current schooling and current wage rates. Casual observation seems to reflect a discontinuity in wage rate growth which occurs when an individual completes school and joins the labor force as a permanent member. This suggests that the time spent in work while attending school is in some sense secondary. Here, the marginal value of the individual's time is considerably lower than the average value of his time. The problem is essentially one of "anti-complementarities" between the production of human capital through formal schooling and working in the primary occupation. More generally, the productivity of an individual's time in one endeavor is not independent of how the rest of his time is spent. If this is the case, students will be willing to accept lower paying jobs which do not greatly diminish the productivity of school time in lieu of jobs offering higher wages at the cost of a greater reduction in school time productivity. The wages of students, other things constant, are about 12% lower than those of non-students. The magnitude of this wage differential is surprisingly large and warrants investigation on empirical grounds alone. This paper explores the empirical relationship and examines various explanations for it. Finally, implications of the analyses are discussed.

The Earnings of Scientists, 1960-1970: Experience, Age and Vintage Effects

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to present a simple but explicit model of on-the-job training which may enable us to separate and identify various types of vintage effects. An attempt is made to apply the model to the data on the earnings of American scientists in the period 1960-1970.

The Demand for Nursing Home Care: An Analysis of the Substitution between Institutional and Noninstitutional Care

Abstract: This paper analyzes the demand for nursing home care for the aged. The cross-sectional analysis indicates a high price elasticity of demand (-2.2), and that the demand is greater the less capable are the aged of providing own care, the better the job opportunities of adult women, and the wealthier the SMSA. Utilization increased 67percentfrom 1963 to 1973,but 64 percentage points is attributable to changes in these demand shift variables. This casts doubt on the view that the growth in utilization was largely stimulated by changing public policies during the period.

Human Wealth and Human Capital

Abstract: In this paper, a few theoretical issues will be raised regarding the relationship between the distribution of human capital and that of human wealth. Special attention will be paid to the empirical implications of the analysis.