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The March of the Techies: Job Polarization Within and Between Firms

Author

Listed:
  • James Harrigan

    (University of Virginia, NBER - The National Bureau of Economic Research)

  • Ariell Reshef

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Farid Toubal

    (ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, CESifo - Center for Economic Studies and Ifo for Economic Research - CESifo Group Munich, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research - CEPR)

Abstract

Using administrative employee-firm-level data on the entire private sector from 1994 to 2007, we show that the labor market in France has polarized: employment shares of high and low wage occupations grew, while middle wage occupations shrank. At the same time, the share of technology-related occupations ("techies") grew substantially. Aggregate polarization was driven mostly by changes in the composition of firms within industries. Within-firm adjustments and changes in industry composition were much less important. Polarization occured mostly within urban areas, with roughly equal contributions of men and women. We study the role of technology adoption in shaping firm-level outcomes using a new measure of the propensity of a firm to adopt new technology: its employment share of techies. We find that techies were an important force driving aggregate polarization in France, as firms with more techies grew faster.

Suggested Citation

  • James Harrigan & Ariell Reshef & Farid Toubal, 2021. "The March of the Techies: Job Polarization Within and Between Firms," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-02973332, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:pseptp:halshs-02973332
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2020.104008
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02973332
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    2. James Harrigan & Ariell Reshef & Farid Toubal, 2018. "Techies, Trade, and Skill-Biased Productivity," NBER Working Papers 25295, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Arntz, Melanie & Genz, Sabrina & Gregory, Terry & Lehmer, Florian & Zierahn-Weilage, Ulrich, 2024. "De-routinization in the fourth industrial revolution: Firm-level evidence," ZEW Discussion Papers 24-005, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    4. Mukherjee, Debmalya & Kumar, Satish & Pandey, Nitesh & Lahiri, Somnath, 2023. "Is offshoring dead? A multidisciplinary review and future directions," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    5. Mayda, Anna Maria & Orefice, Gianluca & Santoni, Gianluca, 2022. "Skilled Immigration, Task Allocation and the Innovation of Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 15693, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Marialuisa Divella & Alessia Lo Turco & Alessandro Sterlacchini, 2023. "Local labour tasks and patenting in US commuting zones," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(5), pages 1097-1119.
    7. Axelle Arquié & Julia Bertin, 2022. "The Heterogenous Effects of Employers’ Concentration on Wages: Better Sorting or Uneven Rent Extracting?," Working Papers 2022-09, CEPII research center.
    8. Bustos, Emil, 2023. "The Effect of Centrally Bargained Wages on Firm Growth," Working Paper Series 1456, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    9. Flavio Calvino & Luca Fontanelli, 2023. "Artificial intelligence, complementary assets and productivity: evidence from French firms," LEM Papers Series 2023/35, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    10. Axelle Arquié & Thomas Grjebine, 2024. "Are Mass Layoffs Individually Costly But Socially Beneficial?," Working Papers 2024-03, CEPII research center.
    11. Haiyong Jiang & Yinghui Han & Yue Wang & Zhenyu Chen, 2023. "Dynamic Nonlinear Relationship between Digital Transformation, Green Transformation in Manufacturing Industry and Labor Structure: Evidence from Panel VAR Analysis," Review of Economic Assessment, Anser Press, vol. 2(3), pages 16-36, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm level data; Techies; Technological change; STEM skills; Job polarization; Offshoring;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor

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