Human capital in transition : on the changing skill requirements and skill transferability

During the last several decades developed economies underwent salient employment shifts from manufacturing toward service production. This dissertation investigates the meaning of these changes for the occupational and skill structure of the German economy. It elaborates on the skills and occupations at risk of leaving the economy, as well as the factors that drive this risk. The altering skill structure is partly reflected in occupational switching. Therefore, in one chapter I analyze the transferability of human capital across occupations. When workers change occupations part of the previously acquired skills becomes idle at the new job and new skills have to be learnt. In the thesis, previously learnt skills which are not usable at the new occupation are called human capital redundancy and skills that yet have to be learnt are called human capital shortage. After creating measures of human capital shortage and human capital redundancy, we study their role in occupational change and wage dynamics.