Labor Mobility among Agricultural College Graduates: A Human Capital Approach

Determinants of job mobility and job advancement were motivated from a model of investment in human capital. Least squares and Tobit models were specified and estimated using data from a recent survey of Kansas State University College of Agriculture graduates. Determinants of job turnover and the number of promotions earned were quantified. Job change and job advancement were found to occur early in the careers of agriculture college alumni. Job experience was found to be the most significant determinant of labor mobility and promotion. Personal and occupational characteristics were found to have significant but small impacts on labor mobility and advancement. Key words: agriculture college alumni, human capital, labor mobility, Tobit analysis. The movement of workers between jobs is common in modem industrial economies. La-bor mobility is particularly pronounced among workers in the first years of labor force partic-ipation; Topel reports that approximately 60% of all new jobs held by young workers end during the first year. Hall indicates that about half of the 11 jobs held by the average worker over the course of his or her work life are taken during the 10 years immediately following en-trance into the labor market. Rapid turnover among younger workers typically evolves into job stability and longer tenure among more experienced workers. Labor mobility can be analyzed as an in-vestment in human capital (Becker). Within this framework, workers maximize lifetime earnings by selecting a sequence of positions over the course of their careers. Firms invest in labor productivity by attracting and re