Article

Heterogeneity and Wage Inequalities over the Life Cycle

Thierry Magnac, and Sébastien Roux

Abstract

Using data on French male wage workers observed over 30 years, we estimate by random and fixed effect methods a wage equation with pervasive heterogeneity. Individual wage profiles are derived from a human capital investment model and described by a level, a slope and a curvature. Among others, our empirical application delivers original results on issues like the Mincer dip, and the time-varying correlations between wage growth and levels, or between initial wages and growth. Static and long-run inequality indices can easily be compared and decomposed into their multidimensional components.

Keywords

Human capital investment; inequality; wage dynamics; post-schooling; wage growth; random and fixed effects;

JEL codes

  • C33: Panel Data Models • Spatio-temporal Models
  • D91: Intertemporal Household Choice • Life Cycle Models and Saving
  • I24: Education and Inequality
  • J24: Human Capital • Skills • Occupational Choice • Labor Productivity
  • J31: Wage Level and Structure • Wage Differentials

Replaces

Thierry Magnac, and Sébastien Roux, Heterogeneity and Wage Inequalities over the Life Cycle, TSE Working Paper, n. 19-1041, October 2019, revised March 2021.

Reference

Thierry Magnac, and Sébastien Roux, Heterogeneity and Wage Inequalities over the Life Cycle, European Economic Review, vol. 134, n. 103715, May 2021.

Published in

European Economic Review, vol. 134, n. 103715, May 2021