Computing inequality: have computers changed the labor market?
The Quarterly journal of economics, 1998•academic.oup.com
This paper examines the effect of skill-biased technological change as measured by
computerization on the recent widening of US educational wage differentials. An analysis of
aggregate changes in the relative supplies and wages of workers by education from 1940 to
1996 indicates strong and persistent growth in relative demand favoring college graduates.
Rapid skill upgrading within detailed industries accounts for most of the growth in the
relative demand for college workers, particularly since 1970. Analyses of four data sets …
computerization on the recent widening of US educational wage differentials. An analysis of
aggregate changes in the relative supplies and wages of workers by education from 1940 to
1996 indicates strong and persistent growth in relative demand favoring college graduates.
Rapid skill upgrading within detailed industries accounts for most of the growth in the
relative demand for college workers, particularly since 1970. Analyses of four data sets …
Abstract
This paper examines the effect of skill-biased technological change as measured by computerization on the recent widening of U. S. educational wage differentials. An analysis of aggregate changes in the relative supplies and wages of workers by education from 1940 to 1996 indicates strong and persistent growth in relative demand favoring college graduates. Rapid skill upgrading within detailed industries accounts for most of the growth in the relative demand for college workers, particularly since 1970. Analyses of four data sets indicate that the rate of skill upgrading has been greater in more computer-intensive industries.
Oxford University Press