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Are Computer Skills the New Basic Skills? The Returns to Computer, Writing and Math Skills in Britain

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Author Info
Borghans, Lex () (ROA, Maastricht University and IZA Bonn)
ter Weel, Bas (MERIT, Maastricht University)

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Abstract

The large increase in computer use has raised the question whether people have to be taught computer skills before entering the labour market. Using data from the 1997 Skills Survey of the Employed British Workforce, we argue that neither the increase in computer use nor the fact that particularly higher skilled workers use a computer provides evidence that computer skills are valuable. We compare computer skills with writing and math skills and test whether wages vary with computer skills, given the specific use that is made of computers. The regression results show that while the ability to write documents and to carry out mathematical analyses yields significant labour-market returns, the ability to effectively use a computer has no substantial impact on wages. These estimates suggest that writing and math can be regarded as basic skills, but that the higher wages of computer users are unrelated to computer skills.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 751.

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Length: 25 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2003
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp751

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Related research
Keywords: wage differentials by skill; computer use and skill;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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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. John E. DiNardo & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1996. "The Returns to Computer Use Revisited: Have Pencils Changed the Wage Structure Too?," NBER Working Papers 5606, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Borghans,Lex & Weel,Bas,ter, 2002. "Do Older Workers Have More Trouble Using a Computer Than Younger Workers?," Research Memoranda 003, Maastricht : ROA, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market. [Downloadable!]
  4. 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)
  5. 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.
  6. Borghans,Lex & Weel,Bas,ter, 2001. "Computers, Skills and Wages," Research Memoranda 019, Maastricht : MERIT, Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Chennells, Lucy & Van Reenen, John, 1997. "Technical Change and Earnings in British Establishments," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 64(256), pages 587-604, November. [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. Borghans, Lex & ter Weel, Bas, 2003. "What Happens When Agent T Gets a Computer? The Labor Market Impact of Cost Efficient Computer Adoption," IZA Discussion Papers 792, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Barry R. Chiswick & Paul W. Miller, 2005. "Computer Skills, Destination Language Proficiency and the Earnings of Natives and Immigrants," IZA Discussion Papers 1755, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Andries de Grip & Inge Sieben, 2005. "The effects of human resource management on small firms’ productivity and employees’ wages," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 37(9), pages 1047-1054, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Thomas Fuchs & Ludger Woessmann, 2004. "Computers and Student Learning: Bivariate and Multivariate Evidence on the Availability and Use of Computers at Home and at School," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Lex Borghans & Hans Heijke, 2005. "The production and use of human capital: Introduction," Education Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 133-142, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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