2023/03/27 by Moh Hosseinioun, Frank Neffke, Letian Zhang +1 · 1 voice · 14 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · #Artificial intelligence #Cognitive psychology #Computer science #Demographic economics #Dependency (UML) #Dreyfus model of skill acquisition #Economic Growth and Productivity #Economic growth #Economics #Ethnic group #Human capital #Labor market dynamics and wage inequality #Labour economics #Political science #Psychology #Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis #Wage #physics.soc-ph
paper · pdf · open access · doi:10.1038/s41562-024-02093-2
published in Nature Human Behaviour 9(4), 673-687 (Nature Portfolio)
arxiv published 2023/03/27 · openalex publication_date 2025/02/24 · arxiv updated 2025/03/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Modern economies require increasingly diverse and specialized skills, many of which depend on the acquisition of other skills first. Here we analyse US survey data to reveal a nested structure within skill portfolios, where the direction of dependency is inferred from asymmetrical conditional probabilities-occupations require one skill conditional on another. This directional nature suggests that advanced, specific skills and knowledge are often built upon broader, fundamental ones. We examine 70 million job transitions to show that human capital development and career progression follow this structured pathway in which skills more aligned with the nested structure command higher wage premiums, require longer education and are less likely to be automated. These disparities are evident across genders and racial-ethnic groups, explaining long-term wage penalties. Finally, we find that this nested structure has become even more pronounced over the past two decades, indicating increased barriers to upward job mobility.