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That was then, this is now: skills and routinization in the 2000s

Author

Listed:
  • Davide Consoli
  • Francesco Vona
  • Francesco Rentocchini

Abstract

We analyze changes in the skill content of occupations in US four-digit manufacturing industries between 1999 and 2010. Following a “task-based” approach, we elaborate a measure of non-routine skill intensity that captures the effects of industry exposure to both technology and international trade. The article adds to previous literature by focusing on both the determinants of demand for non-routine skills and their effects on industry productivity and wages. The key finding is that import competition from low-wage countries has been a strong driver of demand for non-routine skills during the 2000s. Both technology and trade with low-wage countries are associated with mild cross-industry convergence in skill intensity, while trade with high- and medium-wage countries are at the root of persistent heterogeneity across occupational groups. We also find that higher non-routine skill intensity has had, at best, a modest effect on productivity and wages, except in high-skill occupations.

Suggested Citation

  • Davide Consoli & Francesco Vona & Francesco Rentocchini, 2016. "That was then, this is now: skills and routinization in the 2000s," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 25(5), pages 847-866.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:indcch:v:25:y:2016:i:5:p:847-866.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/icc/dtw030
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    Cited by:

    1. Guangjun Shen, 2018. "Computer and Information Technology, Firm Growth, and Industrial Restructuring: Evidence from Manufacturing in the People's Republic of China," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 35(1), pages 133-154, March.
    2. Filippetti, Andrea & Guy, Frederick, 2020. "Labor market regulation, the diversity of knowledge and skill, and national innovation performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    3. Eddy Bekkers & Michael Landesmann & Indre Macskasi, 2017. "Trade in Services versus Trade in Manufactures: The Relation between the Role of Tacit Knowledge, the Scope for Catch up, and Income Elasticity," wiiw Working Papers 139, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, wiiw.
    4. Alessia Matano & Paolo Naticchioni & Francesco Vona, 2019. "“The Institutional Adjustment Margin to Import Competition: Evidence from Italian Minimum Wages”," IREA Working Papers 201905, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Apr 2019.
    5. Consoli, Davide & Rentocchini, Francesco, 2015. "A taxonomy of multi-industry labour force skills," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 1116-1132.
    6. Noemi Oggero & Maria Cristina Rossi & Elisa Ughetto, 2020. "Entrepreneurial spirits in women and men. The role of financial literacy and digital skills," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 313-327, August.
    7. Consoli, Davide & Marin, Giovanni & Marzucchi, Alberto & Vona, Francesco, 2016. "Do green jobs differ from non-green jobs in terms of skills and human capital?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1046-1060.
    8. Goos, Maarten & Rademakers, Emilie & Röttger, Ronja, 2021. "Routine-Biased technical change: Individual-Level evidence from a plant closure," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    9. Casas, Pablo & Román, Concepción, 2023. "Early retired or automatized? Evidence from the survey of health, ageing and retirement in Europe," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    10. Neffke, Frank & Nedelkoska, Ljubica & Wiederhold, Simon, 2024. "Skill mismatch and the costs of job displacement," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    11. Italo Colantone & Alessia Matano & Paolo Naticchioni, 2020. "New imported inputs, wages and worker mobility," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 29(2), pages 423-457.
    12. Budría, Santiago & Milgram Baleix, Juliette, 2020. "Offshoring, job satisfaction and job insecurity," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 14, pages 1-32.
    13. Valeria Cirillo & Mario Pianta & Leopoldo Nascia, 2018. "Technology and Occupations in Business Cycles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-25, February.
    14. Michele Raitano & Francesco Vona, 2017. "Competition, firm size and returns to skills: Evidence from currency shocks and market liberalisations," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(12), pages 2676-2703, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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