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The effects of technological development on the labor share of national income

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  • Ergül, Özgür
  • Göksel, Türkmen

Abstract

In this article, we analyze the effects of increasing automation in production processes on the labor share of national income. For the analyses, we use the DSGE model which contains both the physical capital and the human capital accumulation equations. We improve the model by defining productivity variables for both investment-specific technology and educational activities. In all simulations of the model except base scenario, we give more positive shock to the investment-specific technology compared to the educational activities. In each new simulation, we augment the difference between the shocks to determine the effects of increasing automation on the labor share of national income. The results show that increasing the shock difference decreases the labor share of national income, and this confirms the decline in the labor share of national income in both developed and developing countries since the 1980s.

Suggested Citation

  • Ergül, Özgür & Göksel, Türkmen, 2020. "The effects of technological development on the labor share of national income," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 158-171.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:87:y:2020:i:c:p:158-171
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2019.07.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor share of national income; Investment-specific technological change; DSGE models; Human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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