Occupational Differences in the Return on Human Capital in the Spanish Travel Agency and Hospitality Industries

Abstract

This study analyses the returns on human capital in the Spanish hospitality and travel agency industries across seven occupational categories by gender. It is motivated by evidence that there is great variation between jobs in this sector and that estimations of the rate of returns for each component of human capital for the entire sector may not be accurate. The main results indicate that the rates of return on human capital are lower in these industries for most occupations than in the private services sector. Given that differences in the returns on human capital components across occupational categories are statistically significant and large, then the relative weight of each segment within the aggregate may explain the results obtained in previous studies.