技能结构的地区差异:金融发展视角

Financial Development and Skill Intensity of Chinese Cities

通过引入"资本技能互补"假说和异质性劳动力市场,文章分析了金融发展如何通过促进资本深化提高了企业对技能劳动的相对需求和技能溢价;较高的技能溢价吸引工人(尤其是技能劳动力)流入,从而提升了城市的技能人口比重。人口数据显示地区之间存在显著的技能结构差异,并且这一差异持续扩大。基于城市数据的实证分析发现,金融发展程度较高的地区,技能人口比重较高。使用不同的指标、模型和实证方法,都得到了相似的结论。研究结论有助于理解技能结构的地区差异和劳动力结构性流转的动因,并对建设新型城镇化有政策借鉴意义。

With ＂capital - skill complementarity＂ hypothesis and heterogeneous workers, this paper states how financial development determines the regional disparity of skill intensity. Financial development, by facilitating capital deepening, improves the relative demand for skilled labor and results in higher skill premium, which in turn encourages workers （ especially those with skill） to immigrate. The skill intensity, therefore, rises. Census data demonstrates the huge and persistent regional disparity in skill intensity across Chinese cities. Empirical analysis based on city - level data shows the high correlation between financial development and skill intensity, which is robust to different proxies and alternative specifications. The channel through which financial development improves skill intensity is also testified. Our study contributes to understanding region disparity of skill intensity and the structural internal migration.