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Techies, Trade and Skill-Biased Productivity

Author

Listed:
  • James Harrigan

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Ariell Reshef

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Farid Toubal

    (CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - GENES - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - ENSAE Paris - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique - GENES - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CEPII - Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales - Centre d'analyse stratégique, LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

We study the impact of firm level choices of ICT, R&D, exporting and importing on the evolution of productivity, its bias towards skilled workers, and the implications for labor demand. We use a novel measure of firm-level technology: firms' employment of workers in occupations related to R&D and ICT adoption, who we call "techies". We develop a methodology for estimating nested CES production functions at the firm level, which allows us to measure both Hicks-neutral and skill-augmenting technology differences. Using administrative data on French firms we find that techies, exporting and importing raise skill-biased productivity. In contrast, only ICT techies raise Hicks-neutral productivity. On average, higher firm-level skill biased productivity does not affect low-skill employment even as it raises the ratio of skilled to unskilled workers, due to the cost-reducing effect of higher productivity. ICT techies account for large increases in aggregate demand for skill, mostly due to their effect on firm size, less so through within-firm changes. Exporting, importing, and R&D techies have smaller aggregate effects.

Suggested Citation

  • James Harrigan & Ariell Reshef & Farid Toubal, 2021. "Techies, Trade and Skill-Biased Productivity," Working Papers hal-03411543, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03411543
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    Cited by:

    1. Bas, Maria & Paunov, Caroline, 2021. "Input quality and skills are complementary and increase output quality: Causal evidence from Ecuador’s trade liberalization," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    2. Barrows, Geoffrey & Calel, Raphael & Jégard, Martin & Ollivier, Hélène, 2023. "Estimating the effects of regulation when treated and control firms compete: a new method with application to the EU ETS," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 119261, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Elodie Andrieu & Malgorzata Kuczera, 2023. "Minimum Wage and Skills -Evidence from Job Vacancy Data," Working Papers 034, The Productivity Institute.
    4. Domini, Giacomo & Grazzi, Marco & Moschella, Daniele & Treibich, Tania, 2021. "Threats and opportunities in the digital era: Automation spikes and employment dynamics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    5. Jocelyn Maillard, 2021. "Automation, Offshoring and Employment Distribution in Western Europe," Working Papers halshs-03219118, HAL.
    6. Arza,Valeria Luciana & Cirera,Xavier & Colonna,Agustina & Lopez,Emanuel, 2020. "Explaining Differences in the Returns to R&D in Argentina : The Role of Contextual Factors and Complementarities," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9219, The World Bank.
    7. Downey, Mitch, 2021. "Partial automation and the technology-enabled deskilling of routine jobs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D2 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F6 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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