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Skilled labor -- augmenting technical progress in U.S. manufacturing

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Author Info
James A. Kahn
Jong-Soo Lim

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Abstract

This paper examines the role of skilled labor in the growth of total factor productivity. We use panel data from manufacturing industries within the United States to assess the extent to which productivity growth in yearly cross-sections of U.S. manufacturing industries is tied to industry shares of skilled labor inputs. We find evidence of an explosion in skilled-labor augmenting technological progress during the period from approximately 1972 to 1981, which precedes a period of suddenly increasing wage inequality and rapid growth in the relative wages of educated and experienced workers. We also provide evidence from aggregate manufacturing data that confirm this shift pre- and post-1972, and show that all of the findings are broadly consistent with the behavior of relative wages and employment.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of New York in its series Research Paper with number 9738.

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Date of creation: 1997
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fednrp:9738

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Keywords: Labor productivity ; Technology ; Manufactures;

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. repec:fth:prinin:377 is not listed on IDEAS
  2. Andreas Hornstein & Per Krusell, 1996. "Can Technology Improvements Cause Productivity Slowdowns?," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996, Volume 11, pages 209-276 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  3. Binswanger, Hans P, 1974. "The Measurement of Technical Change Biases with Many Factors of Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(6), pages 964-76, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Acemoglu, Daron, 1997. "Why Do New Technologies Complement Skills? Directed Technical Change and Wage Inequality," CEPR Discussion Papers 1707, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Berman, Eli & Bound, John & Griliches, Zvi, 1994. "Changes in the Demand for Skilled Labor within U.S. Manufacturing: Evidence from the Annual Survey of Manufactures," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 109(2), pages 367-97, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Greenwood, Jeremy & Hercowitz, Zvi & Krusell, Per, 1997. "Long-Run Implications of Investment-Specific Technological Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 342-62, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. 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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  8. Timothy Dunne & John Haltiwanger & Kenneth R. Troske, 1996. "Technology and Jobs: Secular Changes and Cyclical Dynamics," NBER Working Papers 5656, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(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. Gunnarsson, Gudmundur & Mellanden, Erik & Savvidou, Eleni, 2004. "Human capital is the key to the IT productivity paradox," Working Paper Series 2004:13, IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation. [Downloadable!]
  2. Mellander, Erik & Savvidiou, Eleni & Gunnarsson, Gudmundur, 2001. "Is Human Capital the Key to the IT Productivity Paradox?," Working Paper Series 551, Research Institute of Industrial Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. Robert H. McGuckin & Kevin Stiroh, 2000. "Do Computers Make Output Harder to Measure?," Economics Program Working Papers 00-02, The Conference Board, Economics Program. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Kevin J. Stiroh, 2002. "Information Technology and the U.S. Productivity Revival: What Do the Industry Data Say?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1559-1576, December. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Ciccone, Antonio & Papaioannou, Elias, 2005. "Human Capital, the Structure of Production, and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 5354, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Muriel, Beatriz & Terra, Maria Cristina T., 2007. "Sources of Comparative Advantages in Brazil," Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) 658, Graduate School of Economics, Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brazil). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Elizabeth M. Caucutt & Selahattin Imrohoroglu & Krishna B. Kumar, 2000. "Does the progressivity of taxes matter for economic growth?," Discussion Paper / Institute for Empirical Macroeconomics 138, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
  8. Eli Berman, 2000. "Does Factor-Biased Technological Change Stifle International Covergence? Evidence from Manufacturing," NBER Working Papers 7964, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Pieter A. Gautier, 1999. "Unemployment and Search Externalities in a Model with Heterogeneous Jobs and Heterogeneous Workers," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 99-075/3, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
  10. Giorgio Di Pietro, 2006. "Regional labour market conditions and university dropout rates: Evidence from Italy," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 40(6), pages 617-630, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Stephen D. Oliner & Daniel E. Sichel. & Kevin J. Stiroh, 2007. "Explaining a productive decade," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2007-63, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
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  12. Elizabeth Webster, 2002. "Intangible and Intellectual Capital: A Review of the Literature," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2002n10, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne. [Downloadable!]
  13. Elizabeth M. Caucutt & Selahattin Imrohoroglu & Krishna B. Kumar, 2003. "Growth and Welfare Analysis of Tax Progressivity in a Heterogeneous-Agent Model," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 6(3), pages 546-577, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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