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Technology and the demand for skills in Canada: an industry‐level analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Surendra Gera
  • Wulong Gu
  • Zhengxi Lin

Abstract

In this paper we examine the effect of technological change on the relative demand for skilled workers across Canadian industries. We find that skill upgrading at the aggregate level is less evident in Canada than in the United States and other industrialized economies over the 1981–94 period. Behind this overall trend on skill upgrading, there is substantial variation across industrial sectors. Consistent with the skill‐biased technological change hypothesis, the technology indicators – the stock of patents used by the industry and the age of capital stock – are found to be significantly correlated with skill intensity. JEL Classification: E24, J23, J31, O33 Technologie et demande de travailleurs qualifiés: une analyse au niveau de l'industrie. Ce mémoire examine les effets du changement technologique sur la demande de travailleurs qualifiés dans les industries canadiennes. On montre que l'amélioration du niveau des compétences au niveau agrégé est moins claire au Canada qu'aux Etats‐Unis et dans les autres économies industrialisées au cours de la période 1981–94. Derrière cette tendance générale, il y a cependant des variations importantes entre les secteurs industriels. On trouve que les indicateurs de niveau technologique (le stock de brevets, l'âge du stock de capital) sont co‐reliés positivement au degré d'intensité d'utilisation des compétences – ce qui s'arrime bien avec l'hypothèse du changement technologique liéà une amélioration du niveau des compétences

Suggested Citation

  • Surendra Gera & Wulong Gu & Zhengxi Lin, 2001. "Technology and the demand for skills in Canada: an industry‐level analysis," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(1), pages 132-148, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:canjec:v:34:y:2001:i:1:p:132-148
    DOI: 10.1111/0008-4085.00066
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Beiling Yan, 2006. "Demand for skills in Canada: the role of foreign outsourcing and information‐communication technology," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(1), pages 53-67, February.
    2. Francis Green, 2012. "Employee Involvement, Technology and Evolution in Job Skills: A Task-Based Analysis," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(1), pages 36-67, January.
    3. Sylvain E. Dessy & Désiré Vencatachellum, 2003. "Explaining cross‐country differences in policy response to child labour," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 36(1), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Surendra Gera & Wulong Gu, 2004. "The Effect of Organizational Innovation and Information and Communications Technology on Firm Performance," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 9, pages 37-51, Fall.
    5. Sirine Mnif, 2016. "Skill-Biased Technological Change: The Case Of The Mena Region," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 61(210), pages 101-116, July - Se.
    6. Du Yuhong & Wei Xiahai, 2020. "Task content routinisation, technological change and labour turnover: Evidence from China," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(3), pages 324-346, September.
    7. Yan, Beiling, 2005. "Demande de compétences au Canada : le rôle de l'impartition à l'étranger et de la technologie de l'information et des communications," Série de documents de recherche sur l'analyse économique (AE) 2005035f, Statistics Canada, Direction des études analytiques.
    8. Kerstin Hotte & Melline Somers & Angelos Theodorakopoulos, 2022. "Technology and jobs: A systematic literature review," Papers 2204.01296, arXiv.org.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • 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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