Advanced Search
MyIDEAS: Login

Power, productivity and profits

Contents:

Author Info

  • Peter Skott

    () (University of Massachusetts Amherst)

  • Frederick Guy

    () (Birkbeck College)

Abstract

New information and communication technologies, we argue, have been 'power-biased': in many industries they have allowed firms to monitor workers more closely, thus reducing the power of these workers. An efficiency wage model shows that 'power-biased technical change' in this sense may generate rising inequality accompanied by an increase in both unemployment and work intensity. JEL Categories: J31, O33

Download Info

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
File URL: http://www.umass.edu/economics/publications/2007-02.pdf
Download Restriction: no

Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics in its series UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers with number 2007-02.

as in new window
Length:
Date of creation: Jan 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:ums:papers:2007-02

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Thompson Hall, Amherst, MA 01003
Phone: (413)545-2512
Fax: (413)545-2921
Email:
Web page: http://www.umass.edu/economics
More information through EDIRC

Related research

Keywords: power-biased technical change; efficiency wages; inequality; work intensity.;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References

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.:
as in new window
  1. Larry W. Hunter & John J. Lafkas, 2003. "Opening the box: Information technology, work practices, and wages," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(2), pages 224-243, January.
  2. Donald Katzner & Peter Skott, 2001. "Economic explanation, ordinality and the adequacy of analytic specification," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 11(4), pages 437-453.
  3. Peter Skott & Frederick Guy, 2005. "Power-Biased Technological Change and the Rise in Earnings Inequality," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2005-17, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
  4. Alfred D. Chandler, 1969. "Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262530090.
  5. Olivier Blanchard & Justin Wolfers, 1999. "The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence," NBER Working Papers 7282, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  6. Green, Francis & McIntosh, Steven, 2001. "The intensification of work in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 291-308, May.
  7. Hall, Peter A. & Soskice, David (ed.), 2001. "Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199247752, July.
  8. Skott, P., 1989. "Imperfect Competition And The Theory Of The Falling Rate Of Profit," Economics Working Papers 1989-18, School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus.
  9. Francis Green, 2002. "Why Has Work Effort Become More Intense?," Studies in Economics 0207, Department of Economics, University of Kent.
  10. Matias Ramirez & Frederick Guy & David Beale, 2007. "Contested Resources: Unions, Employers, and the Adoption of New Work Practices in US and UK Telecommunications," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 45(3), pages 495-517, 09.
  11. Gintis, Herbert & Ishikawa, Tsuneo, 1987. "Wages, work intensity, and unemployment," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 195-228, June.
  12. Francis Green & Steven McIntosh, 1998. "Union power, cost of job loss, and workers' effort," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 51(3), pages 363-383, April.
Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

Citations

Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Monetizability
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2011-07-28 13:53:23
  2. Inequality & power
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2011-05-20 17:33:31
  3. Class matters
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2011-05-18 12:43:32
  4. Looks & earnings
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2011-05-16 15:23:21
  5. Profits & top incomes
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2010-10-31 09:47:10
  6. Miliband on immigration
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2010-09-29 13:05:08
  7. The tendency for the rate of profit to rise
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2010-04-07 12:48:41
  8. Economics as Feynman's onion
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2009-07-05 10:14:27
  9. Bonuses, power and inequality
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2009-02-08 11:15:00
  10. Immigration & wages: more evidence
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2008-11-03 17:42:02
  11. Debuncification
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2012-12-28 14:35:29
  12. Why is the middle squeezed?
    by chris dillow in Stumbling and Mumbling on 2013-03-27 14:18:02

Lists

This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.

Statistics

Access and download statistics

Corrections

When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ums:papers:2007-02

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Fidan Kurtulus).

If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.

If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.