THE ROLE OF OCCUPATION IN THE DETERMINATION OF WAGES

Data from Kenya and Tanzania indicate that returns to human capital, education, and employment experience generally increase with skill level. A worker's pay level and pay's responsiveness to changes in personal characteristics will be significantly influenced by occupation. The determinants of job attainment include education, employment experience, race, sex, and family background. According to the East African data, employers find it more profitable to hire the most educated workers available for the jobs that attract scarcity rents. The role of social characteristics in occupational access indicates that discrimination does play a part in East African employment. Employment experience might represent occupational promotion during the employee's career or the state of the labor market at the time of entry into it. The data reveal a remarkably low degree of upward occupational mobility, suggesting both that the initial allocation to an occupation and the date of that allocation can govern lifetime wages.