This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the role of life expectancy for optimal schooling and lifetime labor supply. The results of a simple prototype Ben-Porath model with age-specific survival rates show that an increase in lifetime labor supply is not a necessary, nor a...

We document large differences in lifetime hours of work using data from the NLSY79 and argue that these differences are an important source of inequality in lifetime earnings. To establish this we develop and calibrate a rich heterogeneous agent model of labor supply and human capital...

This chapter provides a comprehensive expository survey and synthesis of the theoretical determinants of migration. Early work beginning with Adam Smith, running through the pioneering research of Larry Sjaastad in the 1960s, and continuing through the end of the twentieth century established...

Although early human capital theory recognized the relevance of workers' experience, its focus was on education and formal training. Recent studies find that much of the performance of newly hired workers is driven by learning by doing or learning from peers or supervisors in the workplace....

This Paper claims that technical progress induces early retirement of older workers. It supports this claim both theoretically and empirically. We present a model where part of human capital is technology-specific, so that technical progress erodes some existing human capital. This affects...

If considered within the context of an overlapping-generations framework, pay-as-you-go pension systems turn out to be funded by the human capital embodied in subsequent generations. The failure to actually model public old-age security on this idea may, to a large degree, explain the current...

Because of the current financial crisis and the crisis of the German welfare state, the population development has become a topic of public discussion in Germany. The aging and decline of the population which is on the horizon of most of the highly-developed countries brings up fears of a...

As its workforce ages and major economies shift towards producing higher value-added goods and services, New Zealand will face increasing challenges to remain globally competitive and maintain high living standards. Future growth will need to come increasingly from productivity gains, and...

A highly educated and skilled workforce has been an important driver of productivity performance and prosperity in Belgium. This paper examines skills policies that could help improve productivity and inclusiveness. An increased focus on lifelong learning, improved and more flexible working...