IT Capital, Job Content and Educational Attainment

Abstract

Die Discussion Papers dienen einer möglichst schnellen Verbreitung von neueren Forschungsarbeiten des ZEW. Die Beiträge liegen in alleiniger Verantwortung der Autoren und stellen nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des ZEW dar.Discussion Papers are intended to make results of ZEW research promptly available to other economists in order to encourage discussion and suggestions for revisions. The authors are solely responsible for the contents which do not necessarily represent the opinion of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp0304.pdfDas Papier entstand im Rahmen des Forschungsprojekts "Informationstechnologien, Arbeitsplatzorganisation und qualifikatorische Lohnstruktur" im Auftrag der Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg.The paper was written as part of the research project "ICT, Work Organization, and Wages Across and Within Skill Groups" commissioned by the Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg foundation. Non-technical SummaryThe impact of technological change on the labor market has always been a major concern of economic research. The discussion even intensified in the last two decades due to the fast diffusion of personal computers at workplaces, and due to the empirical evidence that workers with high levels of education are more likely to use computer technology. This led to the hypothesis that information technologies are skill-biased, implying the labor demand to shift towards employees with higher educational attainment. The analysis is based on a large data set of employees, covering four points in time, 1979, 1984/85, 1991/92, and 1998/99. The data set contains detailed information on the tasks that employees actually perform on-the-job, the technology they use, as well as on the educational attainment of employees. IT Capital, Job Content and Educational AttainmentAlexandra SpitzCentre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim Januar 2003Abstract Based on a large data set containing information on occupations between 1979 and 1999, this study explores the "black box" surrounding the skill-biased technological change hypothesis by analyzing the mechanisms that induce information technologies to be complementary to employees with higher skill levels. Using direct, multidimensional measures of occupational skill requirements, the analysis shows that IT capital substitutes repetitive manual and repetitive cognitive skills, whereas it complements analytical and interactive skills. These changes in the within occupational task mix result in an increased deployment of employees with high levels of education who have comparative advantages in performing non-repetitive cognitive tasks.

How computerization has changed the labour market: A review of the evidence and a new perspective

“…15. Autor et al (2003) and Spitz (2003) offer related theoretical considerations of modelling the way in which computer technology has changed the work from routine to nonroutine tasks. 16.…”

Computer Use and Employment Status of Older Workers - An Analysis Based on Individual Data

“…The authors support the widespread theory that computers and education act as complements, and that computerization therefore leads to an increase in the relative demand for highly skilled labor. Spitz (2003) describes the changes in the occupational structure of employment due to the diffusion of IT and analyzes the changes in skill requirements among occupations, using data of German employees. Her findings support the hypothesis that IT capital substitutes repetitive tasks and that it complements analytical, interactive and computational skills.…”

Education and training in a model of endogenous growth with creative wear-and-tear

“…Moreover, little is said on the interaction between general education human capital and specific training human capital in a context characterized by fast technical change. From Nelson and Phelps (1966), Welch (1970) and Bartel and Lichtenberg (1987), we know that highly educated individuals tend to adopt innovations sooner compared to less educated individuals, since the former enjoy a comparative advantage in adapting to change and in implementing new and more complex non-manual tasks (Autor, Levy, and Murnane, 2003;Spitz, 2003). Nevertheless, how technological change ultimately affects training investments for workers with different levels of education is still largely unknown territory.…”

“…While trying to answer these questions, the model will also be required to address/reproduce two stylized facts. The first concerns the relative increase in importance of general skills as a source of growth with respect to specific skills in times of fast technological change (Acemoglu and Pischke, 1999;Lindbeck and Snower, 2000b;Green, Ashton, and Felstead, 2001;Stasz, 2001;Gould, 2002;Spitz, 2003). Based on this, we would expect there to be a premium on formal education rather than specific training in times of rapid technological change.…”