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Technology Shocks and Employment: Evidence from U.S. Firm-Level Data

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  • Kim Jung-Wook

    (Seoul National University)

  • Chun Hyunbae

    (Sogang University)

Abstract

By examining firm-level data from the U.S. manufacturing sector, we show that the short-run employment response to technology shock exhibits substantial cross-industry variation. We find that firms in industries with low inventory-sales ratios employ more workers in response to a favorable technology shock, while those with high inventory-sales ratios employ fewer workers. These results are consistent with Chang, Hornstein, and Sarte (2009) who emphasize the role of inventory-holding costs in intertemporal substitution of production. However, we could not find any systematic relationship between employment response to technology shock and the price-stickiness measure.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim Jung-Wook & Chun Hyunbae, 2011. "Technology Shocks and Employment: Evidence from U.S. Firm-Level Data," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-23, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:11:y:2011:i:1:n:31
    DOI: 10.2202/1935-1690.2343
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ko, Jun-Hyung & Kwon, Hyeog Ug, 2015. "Do technology shocks lower hours worked? – Evidence from Japanese industry level data," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 138-157.

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