Technological change and human capital: Counterbalance between evolution and depreciation

It has been believed that people inserted in formal labor markets who develop economic activities where the application of technology, and the management of specialized and advanced knowledge are fundamental, are subjected to a greater depreciation of their human capital; this is product of the technological change to which they are subjected in their labor praxis. However, it is possible that the greater the depreciation of human capital in the formal sector, the greater are the incentives to accumulate human capital. In this sense, the objective of this research is to explain how the incentives to accumulate human capital in the formal sector compensate for the depreciation of human capital generated by technical change. From the methodological perspective, Mincerian wage equations are estimated for both sectors, following the empirical proposal of Neumman and Wisses (1995). As a result, the levels of depreciation of people working in formal economic sectors, constituted by industries whose operations require a high technological content, are not more pronounced than those of individuals belonging to the informal sector. Finally, it is concluded that the segmentation of the labor market configures a new form of depreciation of human capital.