IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ssa/lemwps/2024-22.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Digital Technologies, Labor market flows and Training: Evidence from Italian employer-employee data

Author

Listed:
  • Valeria Cirillo
  • Andrea Mina
  • Andrea Ricci

Abstract

New technologies can shape the production process by affecting the way in which inputs are embedded in the organization, their quality, and their use. Using an original employer-employee dataset that merges firm-level data on digital technology adoption and other characteristics of production with employee-level data on worker entry and exit rates from the administrative archive of the Italian Ministry of Labor, this paper explores the effects of new digital technologies on labor flows in the Italian economy. Using a Difference-in-Difference approach, we show that digital technologies lead to an increase in the firm-level hiring rate – particularly for young workers - and reduce the firm-level separation rate. We also find that digital technologies are positively associated with workplace training, proxied by the share of trained employees and the amount of training costs per employee. Furthermore, we explore the heterogeneity of effects related to different technologies (robots, cybersecurity and IoT). Our results are confirmed through several robustness checks.

Suggested Citation

  • Valeria Cirillo & Andrea Mina & Andrea Ricci, 2024. "Digital Technologies, Labor market flows and Training: Evidence from Italian employer-employee data," LEM Papers Series 2024/22, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2024/22
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.lem.sssup.it/WPLem/files/2024-22.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marco Vivarelli, 2014. "Innovation, Employment and Skills in Advanced and Developing Countries: A Survey of Economic Literature," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(1), pages 123-154.
    2. Daron Acemoglu & Claire Lelarge & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Competing with Robots: Firm-Level Evidence from France," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 110, pages 383-388, May.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2019. "Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 3-30, Spring.
    4. Cresti, Lorenzo & Dosi, Giovanni & Fagiolo, Giorgio, 2023. "Technological interdependencies and employment changes in European industries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 41-57.
    5. Peter Gal & Giuseppe Nicoletti & Theodore Renault & Stéphane Sorbe & Christina Timiliotis, 2019. "Digitalisation and productivity: In search of the holy grail – Firm-level empirical evidence from EU countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1533, OECD Publishing.
    6. Arianna Martinelli & Andrea Mina & Massimo Moggi, 2021. "The enabling technologies of industry 4.0: examining the seeds of the fourth industrial revolution [Mapping innovation dynamics in the Internet of Things domain: evidence from patent analysis]," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(1), pages 161-188.
    7. Laura Barbieri & Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2019. "R&D, embodied technological change, and employment: evidence from Italian microdata," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(1), pages 203-218.
    8. Francesco Bloise & Valeria Cirillo & Michele Raitano & Andrea Ricci, 2022. "Within-firm inequality in workdays and labor productivity: evidence from linked employer–employee Italian data [Beyond Becker: training in imperfect labour markets]," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 31(1), pages 39-61.
    9. Peter Gal & Giuseppe Nicoletti & Christina von Rüden & Stéphane Sorbe & Théodore Renault, 2019. "Digitalization and Productivity: In Search of the Holy Grail - Firm-level Empirical Evidence from European Countries," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 37, pages 39-71, Fall.
    10. Valeria Cirillo & Lucrezia Fanti & Andrea Mina & Andrea Ricci, 2023. "New digital technologies and firm performance in the Italian economy," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 159-188, January.
    11. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(6), pages 2188-2244.
    12. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2018. "The Race between Man and Machine: Implications of Technology for Growth, Factor Shares, and Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(6), pages 1488-1542, June.
    13. Nicholas Bloom & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2012. "Americans Do IT Better: US Multinationals and the Productivity Miracle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 167-201, February.
    14. Daron Acemoglu, 2002. "Directed Technical Change," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 69(4), pages 781-809.
    15. Dosi, Giovanni, 1993. "Technological paradigms and technological trajectories : A suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 102-103, April.
    16. Manav Raj & Robert Seamans, 2019. "Primer on artificial intelligence and robotics," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, December.
    17. Giovanni Dosi & Pierre Mohnen, 2019. "Innovation and employment: an introduction," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(1), pages 45-49.
    18. Tommaso Pardi, 2019. "Fourth industrial revolution concepts in the automotive sector: performativity, work and employment," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(3), pages 379-389, September.
    19. Ann Bartel & Casey Ichniowski & Kathryn Shaw, 2007. "How Does Information Technology Affect Productivity? Plant-Level Comparisons of Product Innovation, Process Improvement, and Worker Skills," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1721-1758.
    20. Balsmeier, Benjamin & Woerter, Martin, 2019. "Is this time different? How digitalization influences job creation and destruction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    21. Bronwyn H. Hall & Beethika Khan, 2003. "Adoption of New Technology," NBER Working Papers 9730, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    23. Jasmine Mondolo, 2022. "The composite link between technological change and employment: A survey of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1027-1068, September.
    24. Mirella Damiani & Fabrizio Pompei & Andrea Ricci, 2023. "Tax breaks for incentive pay, productivity and wages: Evidence from a reform in Italy," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 188-213, March.
    25. David H. Autor, 2015. "Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 3-30, Summer.
    26. Arntz, Melanie & Gregory, Terry & Zierahn, Ulrich, 2017. "Revisiting the risk of automation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 157-160.
    27. Dahlke, Johannes & Beck, Mathias & Kinne, Jan & Lenz, David & Dehghan, Robert & Wörter, Martin & Ebersberger, Bernd, 2024. "Epidemic effects in the diffusion of emerging digital technologies: evidence from artificial intelligence adoption," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    28. Dosi, Giovanni & Marengo, Luigi, 2015. "The dynamics of organizational structures and performances under diverging distributions of knowledge and different power structures," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 535-559, September.
    29. Van Roy, Vincent & Vértesy, Dániel & Vivarelli, Marco, 2018. "Technology and employment: Mass unemployment or job creation? Empirical evidence from European patenting firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1762-1776.
    30. Alex Coad & Rekha Rao, 2011. "The firm-level employment effects of innovations in high-tech US manufacturing industries," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 255-283, May.
    31. Flavio Calvino & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2018. "The Innovation†Employment Nexus: A Critical Survey Of Theory And Empirics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 83-117, February.
    32. Lamar Pierce & Daniel C. Snow & Andrew McAfee, 2015. "Cleaning House: The Impact of Information Technology Monitoring on Employee Theft and Productivity," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(10), pages 2299-2319, October.
    33. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra Todd, 1998. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 65(2), pages 261-294.
    34. Alberto Abadie & Guido W. Imbens, 2006. "Large Sample Properties of Matching Estimators for Average Treatment Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(1), pages 235-267, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Borsato, Andrea & Lorentz, André, 2023. "The Kaldor–Verdoorn law at the age of robots and AI," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(10).
    2. Jasmine Mondolo, 2022. "The composite link between technological change and employment: A survey of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1027-1068, September.
    3. Montobbio, Fabio & Staccioli, Jacopo & Virgillito, Maria Enrica & Vivarelli, Marco, 2022. "Robots and the origin of their labour-saving impact," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    4. Dosi, G. & Piva, M. & Virgillito, M.E. & Vivarelli, M., 2021. "Embodied and disembodied technological change: The sectoral patterns of job-creation and job-destruction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    5. Başak Dalgıç & Burcu Fazlıoğlu & Aytekin Güven, 2023. "Innovation, employment and market structure: firm level evidence from Turkey," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 1385-1407, September.
    6. Hang, Leiming & Lu, Wei & Ge, Xiaowei & Ye, Bin & Zhao, Zhiqi & Cheng, Fangfang, 2024. "R&D innovation, industrial evolution and the labor skill structure in China manufacturing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    7. Cirillo, Valeria & Fanti, Lucrezia & Mina, Andrea & Ricci, Andrea, 2023. "The adoption of digital technologies: Investment, skills, work organisation," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 89-105.
    8. Damioli, G. & Van Roy, V. & Vertesy, D. & Vivarelli, M., 2021. "May AI revolution be labour-friendly? Some micro evidence from the supply side," GLO Discussion Paper Series 823, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Rajeev K. Goel & Michael A. Nelson, 2022. "Employment effects of R&D and process innovation: evidence from small and medium-sized firms in emerging markets," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(1), pages 97-123, March.
    10. Damioli, Giacomo & Van Roy, Vincent & Vertesy, Daniel & Vivarelli, Marco, 2021. "Will the AI revolution be labour-friendly? Some micro evidence from the supply side," MERIT Working Papers 2021-016, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    11. Giacomo Damioli & Vincent Van Roy & Daniel Vertesy & Marco Vivarelli, 2021. "Detecting the labour-friendly nature of AI product innovation," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0017, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    12. Jacopo Staccioli & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2021. "Back to the past: the historical roots of labor-saving automation," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(1), pages 27-57, March.
    13. Barbieri, Laura & Mussida, Chiara & Piva, Mariacristina & Vivarelli, Marco, 2019. "Testing the employment and skill impact of new technologies: A survey and some methodological issues," MERIT Working Papers 2019-032, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    14. Giovanni Dosi & Mariacristina Piva & Maria Enrica Virgillito & Marco Vivarelli, 2019. "Technology and employment in a vertically connected economy: a model and an empirical test," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0005, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    15. Cirillo, Valeria & Evangelista, Rinaldo & Guarascio, Dario & Sostero, Matteo, 2021. "Digitalization, routineness and employment: An exploration on Italian task-based data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    16. Kerstin Hotte & Melline Somers & Angelos Theodorakopoulos, 2022. "Technology and jobs: A systematic literature review," Papers 2204.01296, arXiv.org.
    17. Carlos Bianchi & Hugo Laguna, 2020. "Firm’s innovation strategies and employment: new evidence from Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 20-06, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    18. Paola Azar, 2020. "Politics as a determinant of primary school provision The case of Uruguay, 1914-1954," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 20-07, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    19. Valeria Cirillo & Lucrezia Fanti & Andrea Mina & Andrea Ricci, 2021. "Digitalizing Firms: Skills, Work Organization and the Adoption of New Enabling Technologies," LEM Papers Series 2021/04, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    20. Destefanis, Sergio & Rehman, Naqeeb Ur, 2023. "Investment, innovation activities and employment across European regions," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 474-490.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industry 4.0; Digital technologies; Hiring rate; Separation rate; Skills; Training; Employer-Employee data;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2024/22. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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 CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc 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 RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/labssit.html .

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.