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The Skill Bias: Comparative evidence and an econometric test

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  • Mariacristina Piva
  • Marco Vivarelli

Abstract

Many empirical studies have shown how technological change, organisational change and globalisation can be alternatively (or jointly) seen as causes of skill bias. In this paper, after discussing some evidence on the G7 countries which shows a clear upskilling trend in manufacturing industries over the 1980s, an illustrative example is provided.The panel analysis of a sample of 488 Italian manufacturing firms shows how the upskilling trend of employment is a function of the reorganisational strategy adopted by firms, while technological change and FDI seem to play negligible roles.

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  • Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2002. "The Skill Bias: Comparative evidence and an econometric test," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 347-357.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:irapec:v:16:y:2002:i:3:p:347-357
    DOI: 10.1080/02692170210136163
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    2. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2018. "Innovation, jobs, skills and tasks: a multifaceted relationship," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0001, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    3. Irene Iodice & Chiara Tomasi, 2016. "Skill upgrading and wage gap: a decomposition analysis for Italian manufacturing firms," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 33(2), pages 201-232, August.
    4. Piva, Mariacristina & Santarelli, Enrico & Vivarelli, Marco, 2005. "The skill bias effect of technological and organisational change: Evidence and policy implications," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 141-157, March.
    5. Piva, Mariacristina., 2004. "The impact of technology transfer on employment and income distribution in developing countries : a survey of theoretical models and empirical studies," ILO Working Papers 993666903402676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Ortega-Argilés, Raquel & Piva, Mariacristina & Potters, Lesley & Vivarelli, Marco, 2009. "Is Corporate R&D Investment in High-Tech Sectors More Effective? Some Guidelines for European Research Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 3945, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Gema García‐Piqueres & Rebeca García‐Ramos, 2020. "Is the corporate social responsibility–innovation link homogeneous?: Looking for sustainable innovation in the Spanish context," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 803-814, March.
    8. Paola Azar, 2020. "Politics as a determinant of primary school provision The case of Uruguay, 1914-1954," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 20-07, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    9. 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.
    10. Marco Di Cataldo & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2017. "What drives employment growth and social inclusion in the regions of the European Union?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(12), pages 1840-1859, December.
    11. Di Cataldo, Marco & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2016. "What drives employment growth and social inclusion in EU regions," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68510, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Sara Amoroso & Pietro Moncada-Paternò-Castello, 2018. "Inward Greenfield FDI and Patterns of Job Polarization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, April.
    13. Tolga Aksoy, 2009. "Technology and Demand for Skilled Labor in Turkish Private Manufacturing Industries," Panoeconomicus, Savez ekonomista Vojvodine, Novi Sad, Serbia, vol. 56(2), pages 261-279, June.
    14. Burcu Fazlıoğlu & Başak Dalgıç & Ahmet Burçin Yereli, 2019. "The effect of innovation on productivity: evidence from Turkish manufacturing firms," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 439-460, April.
    15. Du Yuhong & Wei Xiahai, 2020. "Task content routinisation, technological change and labour turnover: Evidence from China," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(3), pages 324-346, September.
    16. Simón Ramírez & Juan Gallego & Mery Tamayo, 2020. "Human capital, innovation and productivity in Colombian enterprises: a structural approach using instrumental variables," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(6), pages 625-642, August.
    17. Rinaldo Evangelista & Maria Savona, 2010. "Innovation and Employment in Services," Chapters, in: Faïz Gallouj & Faridah Djellal (ed.), The Handbook of Innovation and Services, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Carlos Bianchi & Hugo Laguna, 2020. "Firm’s innovation strategies and employment: new evidence from Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 20-06, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    19. Kirner, Eva & Kinkel, Steffen & Jaeger, Angela, 2009. "Innovation paths and the innovation performance of low-technology firms--An empirical analysis of German industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 447-458, April.
    20. Marco Vivarelli, 2013. "Technology, Employment and Skills: An Interpretative Framework," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 3(1), pages 66-89, June.
    21. Castro Silva, Hugo & Lima, Francisco, 2017. "Technology, employment and skills: A look into job duration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1519-1530.
    22. Sena, Vania, 2006. "The determinants of firms' performance: Can finance constraints improve technical efficiency?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(1), pages 311-325, July.
    23. Mariacristina Piva & Enrico Santarelli & Marco Vivarelli, 2004. "Technological and Organizational Changes as Determinants of the Skill Bias: Evidence from a Panel of Italian Firms," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2004-03, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    24. MOTHE Caroline & NGUYEN Thi Thuc Uyen, 2011. "Do firms rely on sources of information for organizational innovation?," LISER Working Paper Series 2011-39, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).

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