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Job Tasks and Wages in Developed Countries: Evidence from PIAAC

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  • Rica, Sara De La
  • Gortazar, Lucas
  • Lewandowski, Piotr

Abstract

This paper addresses the empirical relationship between job tasks and wages for a harmonised sample of 19 developed countries. We do so by using worker-level PIAAC data to account for task heterogeneity within occupations. Our contribution is threefold: First, we compute abstract, routine and manual task measures that are found to be well-validated visa-vis previous research. Second, we estimate task prices, and find that a one-standard-deviation increase in abstract tasks is related to a 3.3-log-point wage premium, whereas there is a 2.6 to 2.9-log-point wage penalty for each standard deviation of routine (manual) tasks. Development factors and labour market institutions, particularly union coverage and strictness of employment protection legislation, seem to play a role in the differences in all three task prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Rica, Sara De La & Gortazar, Lucas & Lewandowski, Piotr, 2020. "Job Tasks and Wages in Developed Countries: Evidence from PIAAC," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:65:y:2020:i:c:s092753712030049x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101845
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    11. Wojciech Hardy & Roma Keister & Piotr Lewandowski, 2018. "Educational upgrading, structural change and the task composition of jobs in Europe," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(2), pages 201-231, April.
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    2. de Vries, Gaaitzen J. & Gentile, Elisabetta & Miroudot, Sébastien & Wacker, Konstantin M., 2020. "The rise of robots and the fall of routine jobs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Anna Matysiak & Wojciech Hardy & Lucas van der Velde, 2023. "Structural Labour Market Change and Gender Inequality in Earnings," Working Papers 2023-12, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    4. Eduard Storm, 2022. "Task specialization and the Native‐Foreign Wage Gap," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 36(2), pages 167-195, June.
    5. Silvia Vannutelli & Sergio Scicchitano & Marco Biagetti, 2022. "Routine-biased technological change and wage inequality: do workers’ perceptions matter?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(3), pages 409-450, September.
    6. Cristian Bonavida, 2022. "Lo que hacemos con lo que sabemos. Brechas de género en habilidades y tareas en América Latina," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4542, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    7. Storm, Eduard, 2021. "Task specialization and the native-foreign wage gap: Evidence from worker-level data," Ruhr Economic Papers 928, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    8. Ezgi Kaya, 2023. "Gender wage gap trends in Europe: The role of occupational skill prices," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(3), pages 385-405, September.
    9. Saverio Minardi & Carla Hornberg & Paolo Barbieri & Heike Solga, 2023. "The link between computer use and job satisfaction: The mediating role of job tasks and task discretion," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 796-831, December.
    10. Borgonovi, Francesca & Choi, Alvaro & Paccagnella, Marco, 2021. "The evolution of gender gaps in numeracy and literacy between childhood and young adulthood," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    11. Zając, Tomasz & Magda, Iga & Bożykowski, M. & Chłoń-Domińczak, Agnieszka & Jasiński, M., 2023. "Gender Pay Gaps across STEM Fields of Study," IZA Discussion Papers 16613, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Marcin Chlebus & Artur Nowak, 2023. "From Alchemy to Analytics: Unleashing the Potential of Technical Analysis in Predicting Noble Metal Price Movement," Working Papers 2023-13, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    13. Marta Fana & Davide Villani & Martina Bisello, 2021. "Mind the task: evidence on persistent gender gaps at the workplace," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2021-03, Joint Research Centre.
    14. Delaporte, Isaure & Peña, Werner, 2023. "The Dynamics of Labour Market Polarization in Chile: An Analysis of the Link Between Technical Change and Informality," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1262, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Fana Marta & Giangregorio Luca, 2021. "Routine-biased technical change can fail: Evidence from France," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2021-14, Joint Research Centre.
    16. Eduard Storm, 2023. "On the measurement of tasks: does expert data get it right?," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-24, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Job tasks; task approach; computer use at work; job task prices; PIAAC;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • 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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