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Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 107 No. 2 1992

Job Mobility and the Careers of Young Men

R. H. Topel1; Michael P. Ward2

1 University of Chicago · 2 Unicon Research (United States)

Abstract

Using longitudinal data, we study the processes of job mobility and wage growth among young men. During the first ten years in the labor market, a typical worker will hold seven jobs, about two thirds of his career total. The evolution of wages plays a key role in this transition to stable employment: wage gains at job changes account for at least a third of early-career wage growth, and the wage is the key determinant of job changing decisions among young workers. Job changing is a critical component of workers' movement toward the stable employment relations of mature careers.

DOI
10.2307/2118478
Volume
107
Issue
2
Pages
439-479
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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