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.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: O32 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - 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 - - - Training O51 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - U.S.; Canada
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