ILO Research Department Seminar

Opening the black box of human capital: skills and structural transformation

Presenter: Frank Neffke Harvard University; Opening Remarks: Irmgard Nübler RESEARCH; Chair: Sangheon Lee RESEARCH

Frank Neffke is a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for International Development’s Growth Lab at Harvard University. His research focuses on how economic actors diversify from one productive activity to another. Central in this research is that activities can be more or less similar in terms of the capabilities or skills they require. This similarity is shown to affect diversification processes throughout the economy, ranging from individuals’ career paths and corporate diversification strategies, to structural change in regional and national economies. Before joining the CID, Frank worked as an assistant professor at the Erasmus School of Economics in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He holds a Ph. D. in Economic Geography from Utrecht University and Master degrees in Econometrics and Philosophy from the University of Amsterdam.