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The Link between Technology Use, Human Capital, Productivity and Wages: Firm-level Evidence

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  • Julie Turcotte
  • Lori Whewell Rennison

Abstract

Arguably the most important development in the Canadian workplace in recent years has been the massive introduction of information and communications technologies (ICT). The impact of this development on a range of variables, including productivity and wages, are manifold, but are still poorly understood. Julie Turcotte and Lori Whewell Rennison of Finance Canada examine the effects of education, training and technology use on productivity and wages at the firm level. They make innovative use of Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Survey, which allows the linking of the characteristics of workers in a firm to firm performance measures. They find that productivity is higher: the more intensively technology is used in the firm; the greater the proportion of university educated workers; the greater the participation of workers in formal training programs; the greater the proportion of workers who receive computer training; and the greater the firm’s export orientation. A key finding with important policy implications is that computer skills training can augment the qualifications of lower-skilled workers and consequently boost firm productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Julie Turcotte & Lori Whewell Rennison, 2004. "The Link between Technology Use, Human Capital, Productivity and Wages: Firm-level Evidence," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 9, pages 25-36, Fall.
    • Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:9:y:2004:3
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Bartelsman, Eric & Dobbelaere, Sabien & Peters, Bettina, 2013. "Allocation of Human Capital and Innovation at the Frontier: Firm-Level Evidence on Germany and the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 7540, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Echeverria, Rodrigo & Gopinath, Munisamy & Moreira, Victor H. & Cortes, Pedro, 2009. "The Export-Production Decision of Chilean Farmers: The Case of Blueberry Producers," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51025, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Mathieu Dufour & Ellen Russell, 2015. "Why Isn't Productivity More Popular? A Bargaining Power Approach to the Pay/Productivity Linkage in Canada," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 28, pages 47-62, Spring.
    4. V. Vandenberghe, 2018. "The Contribution of Educated Workers to Firms’ Efficiency Gains: The Key Role of Proximity to the ‘Local’ Frontier," De Economist, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 259-283, September.
    5. Wei Zhang & Huiying Sun & Simon Woodcock & Aslam H. Anis, 2017. "Valuing productivity loss due to absenteeism: firm-level evidence from a Canadian linked employer-employee survey," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Esther Goya & Esther Vayá & Jordi Suriñach, 2011. "Productivity and innovation spillovers: Micro evidence from Spain," IREA Working Papers 201126, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Dec 2011.
    7. Maliranta, Mika & Asplund, Rita, 2007. "Training and Hiring Strategies to Improve Firm Performance," Discussion Papers 1105, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    8. Radu Herman & Cornelia Nistor, 2018. "Innovations in Manufacture with Some Evidence from Romania," Manager Journal, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, vol. 28(1), pages 74-83, December.
    9. Wen Ci & Jose Galdo & Marcel Voia & Christopher Worswick, 2015. "Wage returns to mid-career investments in job training through employer supported course enrollment: evidence for Canada," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-25, December.
    10. Lara Lebedinski & Vincent Vandenberghe, 2014. "Assessing education’s contribution to productivity using firm-level evidence," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(8), pages 1116-1139, October.
    11. Vincent Vandenberghe, 2017. "The Contribution of Educated Workers to Firms' Efficiency Gains The Key Role of the Proximity to Frontier," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2017012, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    12. Bridget Daldy & John Gibson, 2005. "Is Computing Different? Comparing the Determinants of Computer-Related and Other Subject Matter Training in New Zealand," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 8(4), pages 291-308, December.
    13. Someshwar Rao & Andrew Sharpe & Jeremy Smith, 2005. "An Analysis of the Labour Productivity Growth Slowdown in Canada since 2000," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 10, pages 3-23, Spring.
    14. Ci, Wen & Galdo, José & Voia, Marcel & Worswick, Christopher, 2013. "Does adult training benefit Canadian workers?," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2013-42, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 26 Sep 2013.
    15. Jean-Francois Arsenault & Andrew Sharpe, 2008. "An Analysis of the Causes of Weak Labour Productivity Growth in Canada since 2000," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 16, pages 14-39, Spring.
    16. Centre for the Study of Living Standards, 2012. "The Impact of Information and Communication Technology on the Productivity of the Canadian Transportation System: A Macroeconomic Approach for the Air and Rail Sectors," CSLS Research Reports 2012-07, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
    17. Esther Goya & Esther Vayá & Jordi Suriñach, 2012. "“Do intra- and inter-industry spillovers matter? CDM model estimates for Spain”," AQR Working Papers 201207, University of Barcelona, Regional Quantitative Analysis Group, revised Sep 2012.
    18. Zhang, Wei & Sun, Huiying & Woodcock, Simon & Anis, Aslam, 2015. "Illness related wage and productivity losses: Valuing ‘presenteeism’," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 62-71.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human Capital; Productivity; Firm-level; Wages; Training; Information and Communication Technology; ICT; Workplace and Employee Survey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L80 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - General
    • M53 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Training
    • O51 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - U.S.; Canada

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