Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1
Sorting by Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill
Notes: The sample includes men 30–35 years old employed at private firms with at least ten employees. Variance components are corrected for sample size according to the procedure in Online Appendix B1.
- Figure 2
Sorting by Education
Notes: Educational attainment is measured in years of schooling (A) and years of schooling standardized by cohort (B). The sample includes men 30–35 years old with observable cognitive and noncognitive skills employed at private firms with at least ten employees. Variance components are corrected for sample size according to the procedure in Online Appendix B1.
- Figure 3
Sorting by Worker Effects from the Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis Model
Notes: The figure shows the variance components of worker effects standardized by cohort from the AKM model described in Online Appendix D. The sample includes male workers between age 24 and 60 in privatesector firms with at least ten employees (A) and men 30–35 years old with observable cognitive and non-cognitive skills employed by private-sector firms with at least ten employees (B). Variance components are corrected for sample size according to the procedure in Online Appendix B1.
- Figure 4
Decomposing the between-Firm Variance: Industries
Notes: The sample includes men 30–35 years old with observable cognitive and noncognitive skills employed at private firms with at least ten employees. Variance components are corrected for sample size according to the procedure in Online Appendix B1.
- Figure 5
Counterfactual between-Firm Variance: Excluding the ICT Sector
Notes: The sample includes men 30–35 years old with observable cognitive and noncognitive skills employed atprivate firms with at leastten employees. Variance components are corrected for sample size according to the procedure in Online Appendix B1.
- Figure 6
Decomposing the Variance of Wages
Notes: The sample includes men 30–35 years old with observable cognitive and noncognitive skills employed at private firms with at least ten employees. Variance components are corrected for sample size according to the procedure in Online Appendix B1.
- Figure 7
Decomposing the between-Firm Variance of Wages
Notes: The sample includes men 30–35 years old with observable cognitive and noncognitive skills employed at private firms with at least ten employees. The predicted and counterfactual variances are based on Equation 3 and corrected for sample size according to the procedure in Online Appendix B1.
Tables
Sample Firm Size Baseline
(1)ME Corrected
(2)Uniformly Distributed Skills
(3)Men 30–45
(4)+ Women 30–35
(5)+ Public-Sector Firms
(6)- Low-Skilled Mena
(7)≥50 Employees
(8)≥100 Employees
(9)Plants
(10)Panel A: Cognitive Skill Between-firm variance 1986 0.173 0.197 0.173 0.141 0.166 0.143 0.151 0.139 0.209 1997 0.225 0.258 0.226 0.198 0.173 0.230 0.203 0.200 0.186 0.265 2008 0.229 0.264 0.232 0.228 0.178 0.233 0.206 0.191 0.172 0.264 Within-firm variance 1986 0.840 0.817 0.836 0.863 0.848 0.747 0.875 0.890 0.811 1997 0.747 0.714 0.758 0.781 0.799 0.751 0.697 0.787 0.803 0.722 2008 0.721 0.686 0.734 0.734 0.773 0.722 0.690 0.755 0.768 0.693 Panel B: Noncognitive Skill Between-firm variance 1986 0.081 0.111 0.079 0.072 0.076 0.070 0.061 0.055 0.099 1997 0.109 0.156 0.114 0.097 0.094 0.111 0.096 0.088 0.080 0.135 2008 0.110 0.156 0.113 0.108 0.092 0.112 0.091 0.088 0.081 0.130 Within-firm variance 1986 0.872 0.841 0.887 0.894 0.879 0.829 0.889 0.895 0.849 1997 0.786 0.739 0.822 0.806 0.828 0.790 0.744 0.803 0.805 0.763 2008 0.801 0.755 0.825 0.794 0.842 0.801 0.762 0.814 0.816 0.782 Notes: The table shows the variance decompositions outlined in Section III of the paper. See Online Appendix Table C1 for the results from simulated variance components under random allocation of workers to firms (for the baseline case).
↵a. The share of the sample with low education falls dramatically over time. The cutoff, ten years or fewer of education, implies that 35 percent are dropped in 1986, compared to 14 percent in 1997 and 8 percent in 2008. This is due to the rapid expansion of upper-secondary education.
Cognitive Skill Noncognitive Skill Share Workers (Percent) NACE Industry 1986 Change 1986–2008 1986 Change 1986–2008 1986 Change 1986–2008 72 Computer and related activities 0.75 0.00 0.27 0.00 1.40 7.04 32 Manufacture of radio, television, and communication equipment 0.45 0.16 0.09 0.15 1.92 0.10 65 Financial intermediation, except insurance and pension funding 0.32 0.10 0.23 0.25 2.70 -0.48 74 Other business activities 0.25 0.05 0.12 0.05 7.83 4.99 51 Wholesale trade and commission trade, except of motor vehicles 0.13 -0.16 0.12 -0.01 9.96 -1.51 22 Publishing, printing, and reproduction of recorded media 0.10 0.05 -0.09 0.03 2.59 -1.22 55 Hotels and restaurants 0.08 -0.29 -0.04 -0.03 1.33 0.35 63 Supporting and auxiliary transport activities 0.07 -0.24 0.04 -0.12 1.53 0.44 24 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 0.05 0.11 -0.03 0.14 1.72 -0.17 52 Retail trade, repair of personal and household goods -0.07 -0.07 -0.04 -0.02 2.37 1.80 64 Post and telecommunications -0.08 0.33 0.29 -0.18 0.03 1.68 34 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers -0.09 0.01 -0.10 0.02 5.34 -0.48 29 Manufacture of machinery and equipment -0.11 0.10 -0.09 0.09 7.04 -1.33 50 Sale, maintenance, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles -0.17 -0.14 -0.05 -0.11 2.96 0.02 70 Real estate activities -0.22 0.18 -0.07 0.17 1.84 -0.89 45 Construction -0.23 -0.06 -0.03 0.00 10.30 0.85 21 Manufacture of paper and paper products -0.25 0.09 -0.11 0.09 4.20 -2.84 28 Manufacture of fabricated metal products -0.28 -0.05 -0.21 -0.04 4.24 -0.96 15 Manufacture of food products and beverages -0.28 -0.09 -0.19 0.01 3.39 -1.18 27 Manufacture of basic metals -0.36 0.10 -0.22 0.08 1.96 -0.30 60 Land transport, transport via pipelines -0.36 -0.09 -0.29 -0.04 2.78 0.04 20 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood -0.44 0.03 -0.21 0.05 2.56 -0.99 Notes: Mean of skills and relative sizes of industries in 1986, and the changes between 1986 and 2008. Only industries with at least 1.5 percent of the workforce in 1986 or 2008 are included. The sample is restricted to men 30–35 years old employed at firms with at least ten employees. The description of some industries has been abbreviated.
Cognitive Skill Noncognitive Skill Share Workers (%) NACE Industry 1986 Change 1986–2008 1986 Change 1986–2008 1986 Change 1986–2008 34 Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers 1.06 -0.13 0.92 -0.09 5.34 -0.48 24 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 1.04 -0.18 0.94 -0.14 1.72 -0.17 32 Manufacture of radio, television, and communication equipment 0.97 -0.26 0.89 -0.16 1.92 0.10 15 Manufacture of food products and beverages 0.95 -0.11 0.90 -0.07 3.39 -1.18 21 Manufacture of paper and paper products 0.95 -0.18 0.89 -0.05 4.20 -2.84 29 Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 0.93 -0.08 0.83 -0.01 7.04 -1.33 20 Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork 0.93 -0.16 0.80 -0.04 2.56 -0.99 27 Manufacture of basic metals 0.91 -0.07 0.82 0.09 1.96 -0.30 55 Hotels and restaurants 0.87 -0.16 1.02 -0.13 1.33 0.35 28 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery 0.87 -0.07 0.85 -0.05 4.24 -0.96 22 Publishing, printing, and reproduction of recorded media 0.83 -0.09 1.01 -0.10 2.59 -1.22 63 Supporting and auxiliary transport activities 0.80 -0.03 1.00 -0.19 1.53 0.44 51 Wholesale trade and commission trade, except of motor vehicles 0.79 -0.13 0.88 -0.09 9.96 -1.51 74 Other business activities 0.78 -0.11 0.86 -0.06 7.83 4.99 52 Retail trade, repair of personal and household goods 0.78 -0.03 0.89 -0.02 2.37 1.80 60 Land transport, transport via pipelines 0.78 -0.02 0.83 -0.08 2.78 0.04 70 Real estate activities 0.77 -0.09 0.85 -0.01 1.84 -0.89 45 Construction 0.75 -0.13 0.80 -0.05 10.30 0.85 50 Sale, maintenance, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 0.74 -0.07 0.79 -0.02 2.96 0.02 65 Financial intermediation, except insurance and pension funding 0.63 -0.02 0.86 -0.13 2.70 -0.48 72 Computer and related activities 0.54 0.05 0.81 -0.03 1.40 7.04 64 Post and telecommunications 0.45 0.32 0.96 -0.13 0.03 1.68 Notes: Average within-firm variance of skills and relative sizes of industries in 1986, and their changes between 1986 and 2008. Only industries with at least 1.5 percent of the workforce in 1986 or 2008 are included. The sample is restricted to men 30–35 years old employed at firms with at least ten employees. The description of some industries has been abbreviated.
Actual Variance Predicted Variance Residual Variance Counterfactual Predicted Wage Variance 1986
(1)2008
(2)1986
(3)2008
(4)1986
(5)2008
(6)
(7)
(8)Total 0.0496 0.0727 Between firms 0.0170 0.0305 0.0096 0.0156 0.0074 0.0149 0.0127 0.0119 Within firms 0.0326 0.0423 0.0039 0.0032 0.0287 0.0391 0.0035 0.0036 Gradients 1986 2008 1986 2008 Sorting 1986 2008 2008 1986 Notes: Wage variance decompositions as described in Section VI of the paper. The variance components in Columns 3–4 and 7–8 are constructed using the 1986 or 2008 skill gradients or sorting patterns as indicated.
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