Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/20037 
Year of Publication: 
2003
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 792
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper offers a model to explain how computer technology has changed the labor market. It demonstrates that wage differentials between computer users and non-users are consistent with the fact that computers are first introduced in high-wage jobs because of cost efficiency. Furthermore, skill upgrading occurs because of a reemphasis on non-routine tasks after computer adoption. The model also reveals that neither differences in computer skills nor complementary skills are needed to explain wage differentials between computer users and non-users, skill upgrading, and the changing organization and intensity of work. Finally, the predicted effects on the wage structure following the diffusion of computers are consistent with the empirical evidence.
Subjects: 
wage differentials by skill
computer use and skill
JEL: 
O33
J31
J30
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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