International Finance Discussion Papers (IFDP)
February 2000
Human Capital, Unemployment, and Relative Wages in a Global Economy
Donald Davis and Trevor Reeve
Abstract:
This paper develops a simple framework for examining human capital accumulation, unemployment, and relative wages in a global economy. It builds on the models of Davis (1998a, b) of trade between a flexible-wage America and a rigid-wage Europe. To this it adds a model of human capital accumulation based on Findlay and Kierzkowski (1983). A variety of comparative statics are examined, including changes in educational capital and population, entry of new countries to the trading world, technical change, and a productivity slowdown. We derive the consequences for the skilled-to unskilled wage gap, unemployment, and skill composition.
Full paper (1273 KB Postscript)Keywords: International trade, human capital, unemployment, wages
PDF: Full Paper
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