American Economic Review: Insights
ISSN 2640-205X (Print) | ISSN 2640-2068 (Online)
Jacks of All Trades and Masters of One: Declining Search Frictions and Unequal Growth
American Economic Review: Insights
vol. 3,
no. 3, September 2021
(pp. 339–52)
Abstract
Declining search frictions generate productivity growth by allowing workers to find jobs for which they are better suited. For "jacks of all trades"—workers whose productivity is similar across different jobs in their labor market—declining search frictions lead to minimal growth. For "masters of one trade"—workers whose productivity varies a great deal across different jobs in their labor market—declining search frictions lead to fast growth. A rudimentary calibration suggests that differential returns to declining search frictions may account for a non-negligible fraction of the wage growth differential between routine and nonroutine workers.Citation
Martellini, Paolo, and Guido Menzio. 2021. "Jacks of All Trades and Masters of One: Declining Search Frictions and Unequal Growth." American Economic Review: Insights, 3 (3): 339–52. DOI: 10.1257/aeri.20200576Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J63 Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
- J64 Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
- O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes