Ratio Working Paper No. 256: Migration, Careers and the Urban Wage Premium: Does Human Capital Matter?
Ratio Working Paper No. 256
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Using detailed Swedish full population data on regional migrants, this paper addresses the question of whether the urban wage premium, and “thick” labor market matching effects, are found only among the higher educated or across all educational groups, and whether the urban population threshold for these type of effects varies by educational category. Estimating initial wages, average wage level and wage growth 2001-2009, we find similar matching effects for all educational groups in the three largest metropolitan areas, but very weak effects for cities ranked 4th – 6th in the urban hierarchy. Our findings suggest that positive urban matching effects are not limited to those with higher education, but that there are distinct population thresholds for these type of effects, regardless of educational background.
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Korpi, M. & Clark, W. A. V. (2015). Migration, Careers and the Urban Wage Premium: Does Human Capital Matter? Ratio Working Paper No. 256.