Sorting and Local Wage and Skill Distributions in France

42 Pages Posted: 28 Apr 2012

See all articles by Pierre-Philippe Combes

Pierre-Philippe Combes

Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Gilles Duranton

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Geography and Environment; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Laurent Gobillon

National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) - Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST); National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED)

Sébastien Roux

National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) - Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Abstract

This paper provides descriptive evidence about the distribution of wages and skills in denser and less dense employment areas in France. We confirm that on average, workers in denser areas are more skilled. There is also strong over-representation of workers with particularly high and low skills in denser areas. These features are consistent with patterns of migration including negative selection of migrants to less dense areas and positive selection towards denser areas. Nonetheless migration, even in the long run, accounts for little of the skill differences between denser and less dense areas. Finally, we find marked differences across age groups and some suggestions that much of the skill differences across areas can be explained by differences between occupational groups rather than within.

Keywords: skill distribution, wage distribution, sorting

JEL Classification: J31, J61, R12, R23

Suggested Citation

Combes, Pierre-Philippe and Duranton, Gilles and Gobillon, Laurent and Roux, Sébastien, Sorting and Local Wage and Skill Distributions in France. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6501, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2047287 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2047287

Pierre-Philippe Combes (Contact Author)

Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) - Department of Economics ( email )

28, rue des Saints peres
Paris, 75007
France

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.gate.cnrs.fr/ppcombes

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Gilles Duranton

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Department of Geography and Environment ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom
+44 20 7955 7604 (Phone)
+44 20 7955 7412 (Fax)

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Laurent Gobillon

National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) - Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) ( email )

15 Boulevard Gabriel Peri
Malakoff Cedex, 1 92245
France

National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) ( email )

133, Boulevard Davout
Paris cedex 20, France 75980
France
+33 1 5606 2016 (Phone)
+33 1 5606 2199 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://laurent.gobillon.free.fr/

Sébastien Roux

National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) - Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST) ( email )

15 Boulevard Gabriel Peri
Malakoff Cedex, 1 92245
France

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
60
Abstract Views
725
Rank
627,735
PlumX Metrics