Experience vs. obsolescence: A vintage-human-capital model

I introduce endogenous human-capital accumulation into an infinitehorizon version of Chari & Hopenhayn’s (1991) vintage-human-capital model. Different skill levels inside a vintage are complementary in production. I establish equivalence between competitive equilibrium and a planner’s problem, which ensures uniqueness of equilibrium. Returns to skill and tenure premia are highest in young vintages, where skill is scarcest and agents accumulate human capital fastest. As the vintage ages, the skill premium decreases and vanishes entirely upon vintage death. The results are in line with German linked employer-employee data: Young establishments pay higher tenure premia but lower mean wages than old establishments.