Abstract
This chapter examines the link between skilled workers and innovation, and the political economy that affects this relationship. With a focus on the current state of research in this area, the chapter first summarizes the new evidence on the connections between skilled labor and innovation relating to knowledge development, entrepreneurship, teams, diversity, and brain drain. The second section discusses the possibility for reverse causality – namely, that innovation can be a driver of the demand for high-skilled labor. In the following section, connections are made between public policies related to education systems, immigration, patent systems, intellectual property, public–private partnerships and amenities, and the possible effect on the level of skilled workers in various labor markets. The recent research is largely focused on the USA and OECD countries, and empirical evidence is provided using current data that corroborates the results of many of the reviewed studies. The final section lists resources for researchers aiming to move forward on the frontier of this line of research.
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Bansak, C., Bender, K.A., Coon, M. (2021). The Political Economy of Skilled Workers and Innovation. In: Zimmermann, K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_225-1
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