David Lagakos
Biographic Data
| ID | 1107777 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David Lagakos |
| GIVEN NAMES | David |
| FAMILY NAME | Lagakos |
| SIGNATURE | LAGAKOS D |
| AFFILIATIONS | National Bureau of Economic Research |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9427-7892 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 51 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1970 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Unemployment and Development
We draw on household survey data from countries of all income levels and document that average unemployment rates increase with gross domestic product per capita. This is accounted for almost entirely by low—rather than high—educated workers. We interpret these facts in a model with frictional labour markets, a traditional self-employment sector, skill-biased productivity differences across countries, and unemployment benefits that become more ge…
The role of micro data in understanding structural transformation
This paper reviews the use of micro-level data for research on structural transformation. We survey the literature on the topics of cross-country productivity gaps, within-country gaps, labor markets, land markets, and infrastructure, and summarize how the use of micro-level data enhances our understanding of structural transformation that is otherwise hard to achieve with aggregate-level data. We suggest several areas that may benefit from more …
Labor Market Conflict and the Decline of the Rust Belt
Do urban wage premia reflect lower amenities? Evidence from Africa
In most developing countries, wages are substantially higher in cities than in rural areas. One possible explanation is that the higher wage levels of urban areas are offset by lower non-monetary amenities. This paper draws on new high-resolution evidence to document how non-monetary amenities vary between urban and rural areas within 20 Sub-Saharan African countries. We focus on measures of public goods, crime and pollution. We find that in almo…
Urban-Rural Gaps in the Developing World: Does Internal Migration Offer Opportunities
This article provides an overview of the growing literature on urban-rural gaps in the developing world. I begin with recent evidence on the size of the gaps as measured by consumption, income, and wages, and argue that the gaps are real rather than just nominal. I then discuss the role of sorting more able workers into urban areas and review an array of recent evidence on outcomes from rural-urban migration. Overall, migrants do experience subst…
Life Cycle Wage Growth across Countries
This paper documents how life cycle wage growth varies across countries. We harmonize repeated cross-sectional surveys from a set of countries of all income levels and then measure how wages rise with potential experience. Our main finding is that experience-wage profiles are on average twice as steep in rich countries as in poor countries. In addition, more educated workers have steeper profiles than the less educated; this accounts for around o…
Explaining Cross-Country Productivity Differences in Retail Trade
Many macroeconomists argue that productivity is low in developing countries because of frictions that impede the adoption of modern technologies. I argue that in the retail trade sector, developing countries rationally choose technologies with low measured labor productivity. My theory is that the adoption of modern retail technologies is optimal only when household ownership of complementary durable goods, such as cars, is widespread. Because in…
The Agricultural Productivity Gap
According to national accounts data, value added per worker is much higher in the nonagricultural sector than in agriculture in the typical country, particularly in developing countries. Taken at face value, this “agricultural productivity gap” suggests that labor is greatly misallocated across sectors. In this article, we draw on new micro evidence to ask to what extent the gap is still present when better measures of sector labor inputs and val…
Essays in Monetary Economics
Essays in Monetary Economics Get access Essays in Monetary Economics. By Harry G. Johnson. 2nd ed. with new Introduction. London: Allen & Unwin. 1969. 332 pp. Bibliog. Index. (Unwin University Books, 52.) 25s. International Affairs, Volume 46, Issue 4, October 1970, Page 780, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/46.4.780b Published: 01 October 1970
Urban-Rural Gaps in the Developing World: Does Internal Migration Offer Opportunities
This article provides an overview of the growing literature on urban-rural gaps in the developing world. I begin with recent evidence on the size of the gaps as measured by consumption, income, and wages, and argue that the gaps are real rather than just nominal. I then discuss the role of sorting more able workers into urban areas and review an array of recent evidence on outcomes from rural-urban migration. Overall, migrants do experience subst…
Life Cycle Wage Growth across Countries
This paper documents how life cycle wage growth varies across countries. We harmonize repeated cross-sectional surveys from a set of countries of all income levels and then measure how wages rise with potential experience. Our main finding is that experience-wage profiles are on average twice as steep in rich countries as in poor countries. In addition, more educated workers have steeper profiles than the less educated; this accounts for around o…
Unemployment and Development
We draw on household survey data from countries of all income levels and document that average unemployment rates increase with gross domestic product per capita. This is accounted for almost entirely by low—rather than high—educated workers. We interpret these facts in a model with frictional labour markets, a traditional self-employment sector, skill-biased productivity differences across countries, and unemployment benefits that become more ge…
Labor Market Conflict and the Decline of the Rust Belt
Explaining Cross-Country Productivity Differences in Retail Trade
Many macroeconomists argue that productivity is low in developing countries because of frictions that impede the adoption of modern technologies. I argue that in the retail trade sector, developing countries rationally choose technologies with low measured labor productivity. My theory is that the adoption of modern retail technologies is optimal only when household ownership of complementary durable goods, such as cars, is widespread. Because in…
Essays in Monetary Economics
Essays in Monetary Economics Get access Essays in Monetary Economics. By Harry G. Johnson. 2nd ed. with new Introduction. London: Allen & Unwin. 1969. 332 pp. Bibliog. Index. (Unwin University Books, 52.) 25s. International Affairs, Volume 46, Issue 4, October 1970, Page 780, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/46.4.780b Published: 01 October 1970
Do urban wage premia reflect lower amenities? Evidence from Africa
In most developing countries, wages are substantially higher in cities than in rural areas. One possible explanation is that the higher wage levels of urban areas are offset by lower non-monetary amenities. This paper draws on new high-resolution evidence to document how non-monetary amenities vary between urban and rural areas within 20 Sub-Saharan African countries. We focus on measures of public goods, crime and pollution. We find that in almo…
Essays in Monetary Economics
Essays in Monetary Economics Get access Essays in Monetary Economics. By Harry G. Johnson. 2nd ed. with new Introduction. London: Allen & Unwin. 1969. 332 pp. Bibliog. Index. (Unwin University Books, 52.) 25s. International Affairs, Volume 46, Issue 4, October 1970, Page 780, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/46.4.780b Published: 01 October 1970
The Agricultural Productivity Gap
According to national accounts data, value added per worker is much higher in the nonagricultural sector than in agriculture in the typical country, particularly in developing countries. Taken at face value, this “agricultural productivity gap” suggests that labor is greatly misallocated across sectors. In this article, we draw on new micro evidence to ask to what extent the gap is still present when better measures of sector labor inputs and val…
Explaining Cross-Country Productivity Differences in Retail Trade
Many macroeconomists argue that productivity is low in developing countries because of frictions that impede the adoption of modern technologies. I argue that in the retail trade sector, developing countries rationally choose technologies with low measured labor productivity. My theory is that the adoption of modern retail technologies is optimal only when household ownership of complementary durable goods, such as cars, is widespread. Because in…
Life Cycle Wage Growth across Countries
This paper documents how life cycle wage growth varies across countries. We harmonize repeated cross-sectional surveys from a set of countries of all income levels and then measure how wages rise with potential experience. Our main finding is that experience-wage profiles are on average twice as steep in rich countries as in poor countries. In addition, more educated workers have steeper profiles than the less educated; this accounts for around o…
Urban-Rural Gaps in the Developing World: Does Internal Migration Offer Opportunities
This article provides an overview of the growing literature on urban-rural gaps in the developing world. I begin with recent evidence on the size of the gaps as measured by consumption, income, and wages, and argue that the gaps are real rather than just nominal. I then discuss the role of sorting more able workers into urban areas and review an array of recent evidence on outcomes from rural-urban migration. Overall, migrants do experience subst…
Do urban wage premia reflect lower amenities? Evidence from Africa
In most developing countries, wages are substantially higher in cities than in rural areas. One possible explanation is that the higher wage levels of urban areas are offset by lower non-monetary amenities. This paper draws on new high-resolution evidence to document how non-monetary amenities vary between urban and rural areas within 20 Sub-Saharan African countries. We focus on measures of public goods, crime and pollution. We find that in almo…
The role of micro data in understanding structural transformation
This paper reviews the use of micro-level data for research on structural transformation. We survey the literature on the topics of cross-country productivity gaps, within-country gaps, labor markets, land markets, and infrastructure, and summarize how the use of micro-level data enhances our understanding of structural transformation that is otherwise hard to achieve with aggregate-level data. We suggest several areas that may benefit from more …
Labor Market Conflict and the Decline of the Rust Belt
Unemployment and Development
We draw on household survey data from countries of all income levels and document that average unemployment rates increase with gross domestic product per capita. This is accounted for almost entirely by low—rather than high—educated workers. We interpret these facts in a model with frictional labour markets, a traditional self-employment sector, skill-biased productivity differences across countries, and unemployment benefits that become more ge…
Economics (9 works) · Economic growth (5 works) · Labour economics (5 works) · Developing country (4 works) · Economic Growth and Productivity (4 works) · Demographic economics (3 works) · Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth (3 works) · Productivity (3 works) · Business (2 works) · Economic geography (2 works)