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Does Future PC Use Determine Our Wages Today? Evidence from German Panel Data

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Author Info
Anger, Silke (Humboldt University, Berlin)
Schwarze, Johannes () (University of Bamberg, DIW Berlin and IZA, Bonn)

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Abstract

Using 1985-1999 data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (GSOEP) to analyze wages confirms the hypothesis that existing computer wage premiums are determined by individual ability or other unobserved individual characteristics rather than by productivity effects. While a rather large personal computer (PC) wage premium was found in the cross-sectional regressions even after the inclusion of standard controls, the conventional longitudinal regression analysis revealed substantially lower or statistically insignificant coefficients, as have other studies. In addition, a new method of testing the two competing explanations for computer wage differentials against each other was found: future PC variables were employed in the wage regressions in order to obtain a further control for worker heterogeneity. The finding that future PC variables have a statistically significant effect on current wages leads one to conclude that computer wage differentials can be attributed to worker heterogeneity rather than to computer-induced productivity.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 429.

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Length: 19 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2002
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp429

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Related research
Keywords: Computer wage premium future computer usage unobserved ability technological change

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
O33 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data

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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. Entorf, Horst & Gollac, Michel & Kramarz, Francis, 1997. "New Technologies, Wages and Worker Selection," CEPR Discussion Papers 1761, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. 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)
  3. 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.
    Other versions:
  4. 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.
  5. John P. Haisken-DeNew & Christoph M. Schmidt, 2000. "Money for Nothing and Your Chips for Free? The Anatomy of the PC Wage Differential," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 0859, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Miller, Paul & Mulvey, Charles, 1997. "Computer Skills and Wages," Australian Economic Papers, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(68), pages 106-13, June.
  7. Oosterbeek, Hessel, 1997. "Returns from computer use: A simple test on the productivity interpretation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 273-277, August. [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. Benoit Dostie & Mathieu Trépanier, 2005. "Returns to Computer Use and Organizational Practices of the Firm," IZA Discussion Papers 1541, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Mary A. Silles, 2005. "Computer Use and Earnings," CAM Working Papers 2005-05, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Applied Microeconometrics. [Downloadable!]
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