The Human Side of Structural Transformation
We document that nearly half of the global decline in agricultural employment during the 20th-century was driven by new cohorts entering the labor market. A newly compiled dataset of policy reforms supports an interpretation of these cohort effects as human capital. Through the lens of a model of frictional labor reallocation, we conclude that human capital growth, both as a mediating factor and as an independent driver, led to a sharp decline in the agricultural labor supply. This decline accounts, at fixed prices, for 40% of the decrease in agricultural employment. This aggregate effect is roughly halved in general equilibrium.
-
-
Copy CitationTommaso Porzio, Federico Rossi, and Gabriella V. Santangelo, "The Human Side of Structural Transformation," NBER Working Paper 29390 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3386/w29390.
-
Published Versions
Tommaso Porzio & Federico Rossi & Gabriella Santangelo, 2022. "The Human Side of Structural Transformation," American Economic Review, vol 112(8), pages 2774-2814.
Related
Topics
More from the NBER
In addition to working papers, the NBER disseminates affiliates’ latest findings through a range of free periodicals — the NBER Reporter, the NBER Digest, the Bulletin on Health, and the Bulletin on Entrepreneurship — as well as online conference reports, video lectures, and interviews.
