IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpd/pd2002/b1-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Skill-biased technological change, international trade and the wage structure

Author

Listed:
  • Arnd Kölling

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB))

  • Thorsten Schank

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB))

Abstract

During the last two decades, the labour demand structure in Germany and other OECD countries has experienced a decrease in the demand for low skilled and a rise in the demand for highly skilled employees. The adoption of modern technologies in the production process as well as the growth of international trade are often regarded as the main driving factors behind this change. On the other hand, it is often argued that a more flexible wage structure could counteract the falling demand for the unskilled. This study investigates these hypothesis for West Germany, 1994-1997, using the LIAB, a unique German linked employer-employee panel data set, which combines information from the German employment statistics and the IAB establishment panel. Employing a Generalised Leontief cost function and controlling for unobserved plant heterogeneity, the demand for three different skill types of labour is estimated by the SUR-Method. The results show that the major part of the skill structure is determined by wages, while we have found only minor impacts of a skill-biased technological change, of international trade and of short-run effects due to the business cycle.

Suggested Citation

  • Arnd Kölling & Thorsten Schank, 2002. "Skill-biased technological change, international trade and the wage structure," 10th International Conference on Panel Data, Berlin, July 5-6, 2002 B1-3, International Conferences on Panel Data.
  • Handle: RePEc:cpd:pd2002:b1-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://econpapers.repec.org/cpd/2002/47_Koelling.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Felix Fitzroy & Michael Funke, 1998. "Skills, Wages and Employment in East and West Germany," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(5), pages 459-467.
    2. Joseph Zeira, 1998. "Workers, Machines, and Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1091-1117.
    3. Alan B. Krueger, 1993. "How Computers Have Changed the Wage Structure: Evidence from Microdata, 1984–1989," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 108(1), pages 33-60.
    4. Christensen, Laurits R & Jorgenson, Dale W & Lau, Lawrence J, 1973. "Transcendental Logarithmic Production Frontiers," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 55(1), pages 28-45, February.
    5. Haskel, Jonathan & Heden, Ylva, 1999. "Computers and the Demand for Skilled Labour: Industry- and Establishment-Level Panel Evidence for the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(454), pages 68-79, March.
    6. Timothy F. Bresnahan & Erik Brynjolfsson & Lorin M. Hitt, 2002. "Information Technology, Workplace Organization, and the Demand for Skilled Labor: Firm-Level Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 117(1), pages 339-376.
    7. Eli Bekman & John Bound & Stephen Machin, 1998. "Implications of Skill-Biased Technological Change: International Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1245-1279.
    8. Entorf, Horst & Gollac, Michel & Kramarz, Francis, 1999. "New Technologies, Wages, and Worker Selection," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(3), pages 464-491, July.
    9. Bellmann, Lutz & Schank, Thorsten, 2000. "Innovations, Wages and Demand for Heterogeneous Labour: New Evidence from a Matched Employer-Employee Data-Set," IZA Discussion Papers 112, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Marco Manacorda & Peter Robinson, 1997. "Qualifications and the Labour Market in Britain: 1984-1994 Skill Biased Change in the Demand for Labour or Credentialism?," CEP Discussion Papers dp0330, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    11. Entorf, Horst & Kramarz, Francis, 1997. "Does unmeasured ability explain the higher wages of new technology workers?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1489-1509, August.
    12. Falk, Martin & Seim, Katja, 1999. "Workers' skill level and information technology: evidence from German service firms," ZEW Discussion Papers 99-14, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Martin Falk & Bertrand Koebel, 2001. "A dynamic heterogeneous labour demand model for German manufacturing," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 339-348.
    14. Daron Acemoglu, 1998. "Why Do New Technologies Complement Skills? Directed Technical Change and Wage Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1055-1089.
    15. Lindbeck, Assar & Snower, Dennis J, 2000. "Multitask Learning and the Reorganization of Work: From Tayloristic to Holistic Organization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(3), pages 353-376, July.
    16. Francesco Caselli, 1999. "Technological Revolutions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 78-102, March.
    17. Eli Berman & John Bound & Zvi Griliches, 1994. "Changes in the Demand for Skilled Labor within U. S. Manufacturing: Evidence from the Annual Survey of Manufactures," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 109(2), pages 367-397.
    18. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Directed Technical Change," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(4), pages 781-809.
    19. Abowd, John M. & Kramarz, Francis, 1999. "The analysis of labor markets using matched employer-employee data," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 40, pages 2629-2710, Elsevier.
    20. Stephen Machin & John Van Reenen, 1998. "Technology and Changes in Skill Structure: Evidence from Seven OECD Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1215-1244.
    21. Richard B. Freeman, 1995. "Are Your Wages Set in Beijing?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 15-32, Summer.
    22. John E. DiNardo & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 1997. "The Returns to Computer Use Revisited: Have Pencils Changed the Wage Structure Too?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(1), pages 291-303.
    23. Diewert, W E, 1971. "An Application of the Shephard Duality Theorem: A Generalized Leontief Production Function," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 481-507, May-June.
    24. Bartel, Ann P & Lichtenberg, Frank R, 1987. "The Comparative Advantage of Educated Workers in Implementing New Technology," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 1-11, February.
    25. Bound, John & Johnson, George, 1992. "Changes in the Structure of Wages in the 1980's: An Evaluation of Alternative Explanations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(3), pages 371-392, June.
    26. Parks, Richard W, 1971. "Price Responsiveness of Factor Utilization in Swedish Manufacturing, 1870-1950," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 53(2), pages 129-139, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kohaut, Susanne & Schnabel, Claus, 2003. "Verbreitung, Ausmaß und Determinanten der übertariflichen Entlohnung," Discussion Papers 23, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    2. John Addison & Lutz Bellmann & Thorsten Schank & Paulino Teixeira, 2008. "The Demand for Labor: An Analysis Using Matched Employer–Employee Data from the German LIAB. Will the High Unskilled Worker Own-Wage Elasticity Please Stand Up?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 114-137, June.
    3. Ljubica Nedelkoska & Simon Wiederhold, 2010. "Technology, outsourcing, and the demand for heterogeneous labor: Exploring the industry dimension," Jena Economics Research Papers 2010-052, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    4. Falk, Martin, 2002. "Diffusion der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien und die Qualifikationsstruktur der Arbeitskräfte (Diffusion of information and communication technology and the qualification structure of th," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 35(3), pages 397-410.
    5. Schank, Thorsten, 2003. "Die Beschäftigung von Un- und Angelernten : eine Analyse mit dem Linked Employer-Employee Datensatz des IAB (Employment of unskilled and semi-skilled workers * an analysis based on the IAB Linked Empl," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 36(3), pages 257-270.
    6. Schank, Thorsten & Schnabel, Claus, 2004. "Betriebliche Determinanten des Überstundeneinsatzes," Discussion Papers 24, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    7. Bellmann, Lutz & Caliendo, Marco & Hujer, Reinhard & Radic, Dubravko, 2002. "Beschäftigungswirkungen technisch-organisatorischen Wandels : eine mikroökonometrische Analyse mit dem Linked IAB-Panel (Technological and organisational change and its effects on employment : a micro," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 35(4), pages 506-522.
    8. Carsten Ochsen & Heinz Welsch, 2005. "Technology, trade, and income distribution in West Germany: A factor-share analysis, 1976-1994," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 8, pages 321-345, November.
    9. Falk, Martin, 2002. "Diffusion der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien und die Qualifikationsstruktur der Arbeitskräfte (Diffusion of information and communication technology and the qualification structure of th," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 35(3), pages 397-410.
    10. Martin Falk & Hannes Leo, 2004. "Die Innovationsaktivitäten der österreichischen Unternehmen. Empirische Analysen auf Basis der Europäischen Innovationserhebung 1996 und 2000," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 25249, February.
    11. Schank, Thorsten, 2003. "Die Beschäftigung von Un- und Angelernten : eine Analyse mit dem Linked Employer-Employee Datensatz des IAB (Employment of unskilled and semi-skilled workers * an analysis based on the IAB Linked Empl," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 36(3), pages 257-270.
    12. Bellmann, Lutz & Caliendo, Marco & Hujer, Reinhard & Radic, Dubravko, 2002. "Beschäftigungswirkungen technisch-organisatorischen Wandels : eine mikroökonometrische Analyse mit dem Linked IAB-Panel (Technological and organisational change and its effects on employment : a micro," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 35(4), pages 506-522.
    13. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, Banji & Lal, Kaushalesh, 2004. "Determinants of E-business Adoption: Evidence from Firms in India, Nigeria, Uganda," UNU-INTECH Discussion Paper Series 2004-14, United Nations University - INTECH.
    14. Carsten Ochsen, 2006. "Zukunft der Arbeit und Arbeit der Zukunft in Deutschland," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 7(2), pages 173-193, May.
    15. Holger Alda & Lutz Bellmann & Hermann Gartner, 2009. "Wage Structure and Labor Mobility in the West German Private Sector, 1993-2000," NBER Chapters, in: The Structure of Wages: An International Comparison, pages 261-313, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Lurweg, Maren, 2010. "Perceived job insecurity, unemployment risk and international trade: A micro-level analysis of employees in German service industries," CAWM Discussion Papers 32, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    17. Lutz Bellmann, 2014. "Kontinuität und Veränderung des IAB-Betriebspanels [The development of the IAB establishment panel]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 47(1), pages 5-26, March.
    18. Bellmann, Lutz & Pahnke, André, 2006. "Auswirkungen organisatorischen Wandels auf die betriebliche Arbeitsnachfrage (Effects of organisational change on firms' demand for labour)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 39(2), pages 201-233.
    19. Bellmann, Lutz & Pahnke, André, 2006. "Auswirkungen organisatorischen Wandels auf die betriebliche Arbeitsnachfrage (Effects of organisational change on firms' demand for labour)," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 39(2), pages 201-233.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Borghans, L. & ter Weel, B.J., 2000. "How Computerization changes the UK Labour Market: The Facts viewed from a new perspective," ROA Working Paper 7E, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    2. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Technical Change, Inequality, and the Labor Market," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(1), pages 7-72, March.
    3. Borghans, Lex & Weel, Bas ter, 2001. "What happens when agent T gets a computer?," Research Memorandum 017, Maastricht University, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Nico Voigtlaender, 2009. "Many Sectors Meet More Skills: Intersectoral Linkages and the Skill Bias of Technology," 2009 Meeting Papers 1136, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. 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.
    6. G.R. Arabsheibani & J.M. Emami & A. Marin, 2004. "The Impact of Computer Use On Earnings in the UK," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(1), pages 82-94, February.
    7. Borghans L. & Weel B. ter, 2000. "How computerizaton changes the UK Labour Market: The Facts viewed from a new Perspective," ROA Working Paper 010, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    8. Angel de la Fuente & Antonio Ciccone, 2003. "Human capital in a global and knowledge-based economy," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 562.03, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    9. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The skill content of recent technological change: an empirical exploration," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue Nov.
    10. Paul de Bijl, 2011. "Broadband Policy in the Light of the Dutch Experience with Telecommunications Liberalization," CPB Discussion Paper 169.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    11. Rimler, Judit, 2003. "Ecset vagy egér. Mesterségbeli tudás és magas szintű technika [Brush or mouse. Occupational capabilities and high technology]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(12), pages 1095-1114.
    12. Majumdar, Sumit K., 2014. "Technology and wages: Why firms invest and what happens," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 44-54.
    13. Rosario Crinò, 2009. "Offshoring, Multinationals And Labour Market: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 197-249, April.
    14. Borgmans, Lex & Weel, Bas ter, 2000. "How computerization changes the UK labour market: The facts viewed from a new perspective," Research Memorandum 025, Maastricht University, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    15. Handel, Michael J., 2003. "Implications of Information Technology for Employment, Skills, and Wages: A Review of Recent Research," MPRA Paper 80077, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Josef Falkinger & Volker Grossmann, 2003. "Workplaces in the Primary Economy and Wage Pressure in the Secondary Labor Market," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 159(3), pages 523-544, September.
    17. John Addison & Lutz Bellmann & Thorsten Schank & Paulino Teixeira, 2008. "The Demand for Labor: An Analysis Using Matched Employer–Employee Data from the German LIAB. Will the High Unskilled Worker Own-Wage Elasticity Please Stand Up?," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 114-137, June.
    18. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1998. "Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed the Labor Market?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1169-1213.
    19. Pascal Petit & Luc Soete, 2002. "Is a Biased Technological Change Fuelling Dualism?," Chapters, in: Mark Setterfield (ed.), The Economics of Demand-Led Growth, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Cindy Zoghi & Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia, 2007. "Which workers gain upon adopting a computer?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 40(2), pages 423-444, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    labour demand; substitution; skill-biased technological change; labour hoarding; international trade; linked employer-employee data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • 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

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cpd:pd2002:b1-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sune Karlsson (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.