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Pathways to Adjustment: The Case of Information Technology Workers

Author

Listed:
  • John Bound
  • Breno Braga
  • Joseph M. Golden
  • Sarah Turner

Abstract

One long-standing hypothesis about science and engineering labor markets is that the supply of highly skilled workers is likely to be inelastic in the short run. We consider the market for computer scientists and electrical engineers (IT workers) and the evolution of wages and employment through two periods of increased demand. Relative to the boom of the 1970s, the demand shock in the 1990s generated relatively greater changes in employment and smaller changes in wages. The growth in the pool of skilled workers abroad, combined with increased immigration in high-skill fields, is central to this story.

Suggested Citation

  • John Bound & Breno Braga & Joseph M. Golden & Sarah Turner, 2013. "Pathways to Adjustment: The Case of Information Technology Workers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 203-207, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:103:y:2013:i:3:p:203-07
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.103.3.203
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William R. Kerr & William F. Lincoln, 2010. "The Supply Side of Innovation: H-1B Visa Reforms and U.S. Ethnic Invention," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(3), pages 473-508, July.
    2. John Bound & Breno Braga & Joseph M. Golden & Gaurav Khanna, 2015. "Recruitment of Foreigners in the Market for Computer Scientists in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(S1), pages 187-223.
    3. Richard B. Freeman, 2010. "What Does Global Expansion of Higher Education Mean for the United States?," NBER Chapters, in: American Universities in a Global Market, pages 373-404, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Richard B. Freeman, 1976. "A Cobweb Model of the Supply and Starting Salary of New Engineers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 29(2), pages 236-248, January.
    5. Kenneth J. Arrow & William M. Capron, 1959. "Dynamic Shortages and Price Rises: The Engineer-Scientist Case," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 73(2), pages 292-308.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    1. John Bound & Breno Braga & Joseph M. Golden & Gaurav Khanna, 2015. "Recruitment of Foreigners in the Market for Computer Scientists in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(S1), pages 187-223.
    2. Sara Signorelli, 2020. "Too Constrained to Grow Analysis of Firms' Response to the Alleviation of Skill Shortages," PSE Working Papers halshs-02961493, HAL.
    3. John Bound & Breno Braga & Gaurav Khanna & Sarah Turner, 2021. "The Globalization of Postsecondary Education: The Role of International Students in the US Higher Education System," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 163-184, Winter.
    4. John Bound & Murat Demirci & Gaurav Khanna & Sarah Turner, 2015. "Finishing Degrees and Finding Jobs: US Higher Education and the Flow of Foreign IT Workers," Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 27-72.
    5. John Bound, 2017. "Comments," NBER Chapters, in: Education, Skills, and Technical Change: Implications for Future US GDP Growth, pages 495-499, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Tyler Ransom & John V. Winters, 2021. "Do Foreigners Crowd Natives out of STEM Degrees and Occupations? Evidence from the US Immigration Act of 1990," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(2), pages 321-351, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

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