Series
Upjohn Institute working paper ; 23-382
DOI
10.17848/wp23-382
Issue Date
March 2023
Abstract
How does a large structural change to the labor market affect education investments made at young ages? Exploiting differential exposure to the national decline in routine-task intensity across local labor markets, we show that the secular decline in routine tasks causes major shifts in education investments of high school students, where they invest less in vocational-trades education and increasingly invest in college education. Our results highlight that labor demand changes impact inequality in the next generation. Low-ability and low-SES students are most responsive to task-biased demand changes and, as a result, intergenerational mobility in college education increases.
Sponsorship
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Early Career Research Award 18-156-10 and Research Council of Norway
Subject Areas
EDUCATION; K-12 Education; Postsecondary education; Career and technical education; LABOR MARKET ISSUES; Local labor markets
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Citation
Bennett, Patrick, Kai Liu, and Kjell Salvanes. 2023. "The Decline of Routine Tasks, Education Investments, and Intergenerational Mobility." Upjohn Institute Working Paper 23-382. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. https://doi.org/10.17848/wp23-382