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Changes in the Functional Structure of Firms and the Demand for Skill

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Author Info
Maurin, Eric
Thesmar, David

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Abstract

We describe and analyse the changes in the occupational structure of French manufacturing firms between 1984 and 1995. Firms employ a much greater proportions of engineers and researchers working on the design and marketing of new products and a much lower proportion of high-skilled experts working in administration-related activities. Firms have also reduced the share of production-related activities at both the levels of high-skilled and low-skilled workers. We develop a very simple labour demand model that shows the role played by technological change. By reducing the costs of activities that are the easiest to program in advance (notably for product fabrication), new information technologies make it possible to allocate more human and material resources to the activities that are the most difficult to program in advance, notably for the conception and marketing of new products. We show that this is the main channel through which new information technologies increase the demand for skill.

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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number 3831.

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Date of creation: Mar 2003
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Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:3831

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Related research
Keywords: skill; tasks; technological change;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
O33 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. David, Paul A, 1990. "The Dynamo and the Computer: An Historical Perspective on the Modern Productivity Paradox," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 355-61, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Hollanders,Hugo & Weel,Bas,ter, 2000. "Technology, Knowledge Spillovers and Changes in Skill Structure," Research Memoranda 001, Maastricht : MERIT, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology. [Downloadable!]
  3. 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, MIT Press, vol. 117(1), pages 339-376, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. DiNardo, John & Fortin, Nicole M & Lemieux, Thomas, 1996. "Labor Market Institutions and the Distribution of Wages, 1973-1992: A Semiparametric Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(5), pages 1001-44, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. David H. Autor & Lawrence F. Katz & Alan B. Krueger, 1998. "Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed The Labor Market?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1169-1213, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Doms, Mark & Dunne, Timothy & Troske, Kenneth R, 1997. "Workers, Wages, and Technology," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(1), pages 253-90, February.
  7. Dunne, Timothy & Haltiwanger, John & Troske, Kenneth R., 1997. "Technology and jobs: secular changes and cyclical dynamics," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 107-178, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2001. "The Skill Content of Recent Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration," NBER Working Papers 8337, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Stephen Machin & John Van Reenen, 1998. "Technology And Changes In Skill Structure: Evidence From Seven Oecd Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1215-1244, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Dominique Goux & Eric Maurin, 2000. "The Decline In Demand For Unskilled Labor: An Empirical Analysis Method And Its Application To France," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(4), pages 596-607, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. DiNardo, John E & Pischke, Jorn-Steffen, 1997. "The Returns to Computer Use Revisited: Have Pencils Changed the Wage Structure Too?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(1), pages 291-303, February.
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  13. Kenneth R Troske, 1994. "Evidence on the Employer Size-Wage Premium From Worker-Establishment Matched Data," Working Papers 94-10, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
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  14. Eli Berman & John Bound & Stephen Machin, 1998. "Implications Of Skill-Biased Technological Change: International Evidence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(4), pages 1245-1279, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Piva, Mariacristina & Santarelli, Enrico & Vivarelli, Marco, 2003. "The Skill Bias Effect of Technological and Organisational Change: Evidence and Policy Implications," IZA Discussion Papers 934, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Cörvers, Frank & Dupuy, Arnaud, 2009. "Estimating Employment Dynamics across Occupations and Sectors of Industry," IZA Discussion Papers 4428, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Arnaud Chéron & Francois Langot & Eva Moreno-Galbis, 2007. "The "Dynamic" of Job Competition during the ICT Revolution," IZA Discussion Papers 2671, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. Givord, Pauline & Maurin, Eric, 2003. "Job Tenure, Wages and Technology: A Reassessment Using Matched Worker-Firm Panel Data," CEPR Discussion Papers 4147, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Fabrice Defever, 2006. "Functional fragmentation and the location of multinational firms in the enlarged Europe," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00118808_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
  6. Martine Carre & David Drouot, 2004. "Pace versus Type: The Effect of Economic Growth on Unemployment and Wage Patterns," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 7(3), pages 737-757, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Givord, Pauline & Maurin, Eric, 2003. "Changes in Job Security and their Causes: An Empirical Analysis for France, 1982-2002," CEPR Discussion Papers 3830, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. W. Smits, 2006. "The Quality of Apprenticeship Training," Education Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 329-344, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Fabrice Defever, 2006. "Functional fragmentation and the location of multinational firms in the enlarged Europe," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques bla06052, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Cörvers Frank & Dupuy Arnaud, 2009. "Estimating employment dynamics across occupations and sectors of industry," Research Memoranda 014, Maastricht : ROA, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market. [Downloadable!]
  11. Carlos Henrique Corseuil & Hidehiko Ichimura, 2006. "New Evidences on What Job Creation and Job Destruction Represent," Discussion papers 06023, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). [Downloadable!]
  12. Dessein, Wouter & Santos, Jesus, 2003. "The Demand for Coordination," CEPR Discussion Papers 4096, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Wouter Dessein & Tano Santos, 2003. "The Demand for Coordination," NBER Working Papers 10056, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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