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R&D, Embodied Technological Change and Employment: Evidence from Spain

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  • Pellegrino, Gabriele
  • Piva, Mariacristina
  • Vivarelli, Marco

Abstract

In this work, we test the employment impact of distinct types of innovative investments using a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2002-2013. Our GMM-SYS estimates generate various results, which are partially in contrast with the extant literature. Indeed, estimations carried out on the entire sample do not provide statistically significant evidence of the expected labor-friendly nature of innovation. More in detail, neither R&D nor investment in innovative machineries and equipment (the so-called embodied technological change, ETC) turn out to have any significant employment effect. However, the job-creation impact of R&D expenditures becomes highly significant when the focus is limited to the high-tech firms. On the other hand - and interestingly - ETC exhibits its labor-saving nature when SMEs are singled out.

Suggested Citation

  • Pellegrino, Gabriele & Piva, Mariacristina & Vivarelli, Marco, 2018. "R&D, Embodied Technological Change and Employment: Evidence from Spain," GLO Discussion Paper Series 214, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:214
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Mariacristina Piva & Marco Vivarelli, 2018. "Is Innovation Destroying Jobs? Firm-Level Evidence from the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, April.
    3. 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.
    4. Valeria Cirillo & Mario Pianta & Leopoldo Nascia, 2018. "Technology and Occupations in Business Cycles," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-25, February.
    5. Luigi Aldieri & Concetto Paolo Vinci, 2018. "Green Economy and Sustainable Development: The Economic Impact of Innovation on Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-11, October.
    6. Shampa Paul & Kaushalesh Lal, 2021. "Technology Intensity and Employment in the Indian Economy," Arthaniti: Journal of Economic Theory and Practice, , vol. 20(1), pages 34-52, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; R&D; Embodied Technological Change; Employment; GMM-SYS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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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