Return to skills and urban size: Evidence from firm-level data
While most empirical studies document that cognitive and social skills are strong predictors of individual earnings, their impact is not homogenous across the urban hierarchy. We argue that cognitive and social skills are utilized more intensively in large urban labour markets, therefore the return to these skills is higher in cities. Using data from a representative survey recording the skills requirements of Hungarian firms, we show that returns to certain skills vary by the degree of agglomeration. Social skills are more rewarded in large urban areas, but surprisingly, this pattern cannot be observed for cognitive skills. We use instrumental variables to correct for measurement errors in skills, and to deal with the potential endogeneity of agglomeration. Our results are robust to alternative agglomeration measures, sample restrictions and a large set of controls, however, skill returns seem to vary considerably across worker groups and sectors.