Table 1 Changes in the wage premium and the relative supply and demand for skilled–unskilled workers assuming alternative values for elasticity σSU.
Country | Skilled–unskilled | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wage premium | Relative supply | Relative demand (σSU= 2) | Relative demand (σSU= 3) | Relative demand (σSU= 4) | |||||||||||
1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | |
Argentina | 2.5 | − 3.5 | − 1.3 | 4.8 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 9.9 | − 4.2 | − 0.4 | 12.4 | − 7.7 | − 1.7 | 15.0 | − 11.2 | − 3.0 |
Bolivia | – | − 6.9 | − 1.1 | – | 3.7 | 5.3 | – | − 10.1 | 3.1 | – | − 17.0 | 2.0 | – | − 23.8 | 0.9 |
Brazil | 0.7 | − 5.0 | − 0.6 | 1.9 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 3.2 | − 4.4 | 0.0 | 3.9 | − 9.4 | − 0.6 | 4.6 | − 14.4 | − 1.1 |
Chile | 0.5 | − 2.5 | − 2.1 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | − 3.7 | − 0.5 | 4.6 | − 6.2 | − 2.6 | 5.1 | − 8.7 | − 4.8 |
Colombia | 2.5 | − 1.1 | − 1.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 9.4 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 11.8 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 14.3 | 0.4 | − 0.8 |
Costa Rica | 0.7 | − 0.5 | − 2.3 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 2.4 | − 0.7 | 6.9 | 1.9 | − 3.0 | 7.7 | 1.5 | − 5.2 |
Ecuador | – | − 4.4 | − 3.0 | – | 3.1 | 2.0 | – | − 5.6 | − 3.9 | – | − 9.9 | − 6.9 | – | − 14.3 | − 9.8 |
Honduras | 0.0 | − 1.9 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 7.9 | 2.6 | − 1.4 | 9.2 | 2.7 | − 3.3 | 9.8 | 2.7 | − 5.2 | 10.5 |
Mexico | 1.8 | − 2.8 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 7.3 | − 3.5 | 1.6 | 9.2 | − 6.3 | 2.0 | 11.0 | − 9.1 | 2.4 |
Nicaragua | 3.5 | − 6.7 | – | 4.5 | 5.4 | – | 11.4 | − 8.0 | – | 14.9 | − 14.7 | – | 18.4 | − 21.4 | − |
Panama | 0.7 | − 3.3 | − 0.9 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 | − 4.5 | 2.4 | 4.8 | − 7.8 | 1.5 | 5.6 | − 11.0 | 0.6 |
Paraguay | 1.2 | − 5.6 | − 1.1 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 2.9 | 7.7 | − 5.1 | 0.6 | 8.9 | − 10.8 | − 0.5 | 10.0 | − 16.4 | − 1.6 |
Peru | 1.8 | − 2.3 | − 1.9 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.6 | − 1.0 | 0.1 | 6.3 | − 3.4 | − 1.8 | 8.1 | − 5.7 | − 3.7 |
El Salvador | 1.7 | 0.6 | − 1.1 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 7.0 | 1.5 | − 0.5 | 8.7 | 2.1 | − 1.5 | 10.5 | 2.7 | − 2.6 |
Uruguay | 3.4 | − 0.2 | − 3.1 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 7.5 | 1.8 | − 5.7 | 10.9 | 1.6 | − 8.7 | 14.3 | 1.4 | − 11.8 |
Venezuela | 1.1 | − 4.8 | − 2.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 8.4 | 6.2 | − 5.0 | 4.1 | 7.3 | − 9.8 | 2.0 | 8.5 | − 14.7 | − 0.2 |
Mean | 1.6 | − 3.2 | − 1.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 6.5 | − 3.0 | 0.8 | 8.1 | − 6.2 | − 0.6 | 9.7 | − 9.4 | − 2.0 |
Mean 9 countries | 1.3 | − 2.7 | − 1.3 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 5.7 | − 2.5 | 1.1 | 7.0 | − 5.2 | − 0.1 | 8.3 | − 7.9 | − 1.4 |
Mean 12 countries | 1.4 | − 2.5 | − 1.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 6.3 | − 2.0 | 1.0 | 7.7 | − 4.5 | − 0.2 | 9.1 | − 7.1 | − 1.5 |