Changes in the skill structure of the labour force. An empirical application to the Spanish case

Abstract

Over the past two decades the Spanish economy, as well as many other economies, has known a process of skill upgrading in its labour force. Although many previous studies on this phenomena took as reference non production workers, the present study focus on high skilled labour force. Most of the variation in this qualified labour force has been within industries which points to internal reorganization of firms as the origin of this shift. To analyze the impact of physical and technological capital introduction on the wage share of skilled workers, a regression format based on the translog cost function has been used. Results show the positive influence that both stocks have had on the share of skilled. Furthermore, they are able to explain by their own most of the observed change in this shareWithin and between industrial effect, capital-skill complementarity, education expenditures