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Is there skilled-biased technological change in Italian manufacturing? Evidence from firm-level data

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  • Massimiliano Bratti
  • Nicola Matteucci

Abstract

The bulk of the literature on the Skill-Biased Technological Change (SBTC) hypothesis has focused on the US and the UK, while evidence on other countries is ‘mixed’. We use firm-level data to test for the presence of SBTC in Italian manufacturing. The interest stems from the fact that Italy is a “late comer” country, suffers a gap in new technologies and has a ‘rigid’ labour market. We estimate employment-share equations using as a skill-ratio two alternative measures, the ratio between white collars and blue collars (WC/BC) and that between graduates and non-graduates (G/NG). We find an unconventional evidence supporting SBTC. First, with the most traditional indicator (WC/BC), a significant effect of R&D is only found when the latter is disaggregated by destination: SBTC mainly runs via process-oriented R&D. Instead, a significant impact of R&D on the skill-ratio is always uncovered with G/NG. Further disaggregations confirm that the impact of R&D is mainly due to incremental process-oriented activities. These results can be easily reconciled with the structural characteristics of Italian manufacturing, where traditional sectors and small and medium sized firms prevail, innovative activities are mainly incremental and the capacity to absorb skilled labour rather limited.

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  • Massimiliano Bratti & Nicola Matteucci, 2005. "Is there skilled-biased technological change in Italian manufacturing? Evidence from firm-level data," Brussels Economic Review, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 48(1-2), pages 153-182.
    • Handle: RePEc:bxr:bxrceb:y:2005:v:48:i:1-2:p:153-182
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    2. Paolo Seri, 2014. "The role of proximity in retrospective: organizations, ICT and human resources in Italian traditional districts? firms," Working Papers 1404, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2014.
    3. Roberto Antonietti & Davide Antonioli, 2007. "Production Offshoring and the Skill Composition of Italian Manufacturing Firms: A Counterfactual Analysis," Working Papers 2007.97, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    4. Antonioli, Davide & Manzalini, Rocco & Pini, Paolo, 2011. "Innovation, workers skills and industrial relations: Empirical evidence from firm-level Italian data," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 312-326, May.
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    6. Maren M. Michaelsen, 2011. "The Hidden Increase in Wage Inequality: Skill-biased and Ability-biased Technological Change," Ruhr Economic Papers 0262, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Michaelsen, Maren M., 2011. "The Hidden Increase in Wage Inequality: Skill-biased and Ability-biased Technological Change," Ruhr Economic Papers 262, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    8. Paolo Naticchioni & Andrea Ricci & Emiliano Rustichelli, 2008. "Wage Inequality, Employment Structure and Skill‐biased Change in Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(s1), pages 27-51, June.
    9. Julia Bock-Schappelwein & Ulrike Huemer & Andrea Pöschl, 2006. "Teilstudie 9: Aus- und Weiterbildung als Voraussetzung für Innovation," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 27448, Juni.
    10. Roberto ESPOSTI & Pierpaolo PIERANI, 2005. "Price, Private Demand and Optimal Provision of Public R&D in Italian Agriculture," Working Papers 238, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    11. Emmanuelle Walkowiak, 2006. "Renouvellement de la main-d'œuvre et modernisation des entreprises," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 57(6), pages 1205-1233.
    12. Paolo Naticchioni & Andrea Ricci & Emiliano Rustichelli, 2007. "Wage Structure, Inequality And Skill-Biased Change: Is Italy An Outlier?," Quaderni del Dipartimento di Economia, Finanza e Statistica 38/2007, Università di Perugia, Dipartimento Economia.
    13. Adel Ben Khalifa, 2019. "Direct and Complementary Effects of Investment in Knowledge-Based Economy on Innovation Performance in Tunisian Firms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 10(2), pages 561-589, June.
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    15. R. Antonietti & D. Antonioli, 2007. "Conditional Leptokurtosis in Energy Prices: Multivariate Evidence from Futures Markets," Working Papers 594, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    16. Chiara BROCCOLINI & Alessia LO TURCO & Andrea PRESBITERO & Stefano STAFFOLANI, 2007. "International Outsourcing vs. ICT in explaining the wage gap in Italian Manufacturing," Working Papers 299, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    17. Gabriele BALLARINO & Massimiliano BRATTI, 2006. "Fields of study and graduates’ occupational outcomes in Italy during the 90s. Who won and who lost?," Departmental Working Papers 2006-17, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    18. Gabriele Ballarino & Massimiliano Bratti, 2009. "Field of Study and University Graduates' Early Employment Outcomes in Italy during 1995–2004," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(3), pages 421-457, September.
    19. Renato BALDUCCI, 2005. "Public Expenditure and Economic Growth. A critical extension of Barro's (1990) model," Working Papers 240, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    20. Sami SAAFI & Fouzi SBOUI, 2011. "LES OPPORTUNITES DES INVESTISSEMENTS DIRECTS ETRANGERS LES OPPORTUNITES DES INVESTISSEMENTS DIRECTS ETRANGERS, DIFFUSION TECHNOLOGIQUE ET DEMANDE DE LA MAIN-D’OEUVRE PAR QUALIFICATION DES INDUSTRIES T," Working Papers 240, Laboratoire de Recherche sur l'Industrie et l'Innovation. ULCO / Research Unit on Industry and Innovation.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm-level; ICT; Italy; Manufacturing; Skill-biased technological change; R&D;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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