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Title: Employment relationships and the labor market during technology takeoffs
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 1999
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Abstract: During a technology takeoff, what effects are visible in the data on employment relationships and labor markets? In particular, can we find evidence for the hypothesis that there is bidding for certain types of employees which raises income inequality among workers overall during a technology takeoff? By technology takeoff we mean the response of firms and entrepreneurs to a new technology, analogous to a gold rush. When technologies of production are evolving, the contributions of different types of workers may vary more than when technology is stable, because some skills, talents, or experiences may suddenly be in short supply. This dissertation explores that conjecture from many angles. Can this effect be seen in data on earnings? Can we model an intuitively plausible mechanism by which it would be brought about? And is there a useful contrast between this proposition and the view built into much of the research literature, that information technology imparts a skill bias, expanding inequalities more permanently? This document proposes a dissertation made up of several approaches to these problems. The first chapter models the skill and ability differences that could drive the effects described, and in two chapters we look for evidence of temporary earnings dispersion during technology takeoffs.
Url: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ab06/eaaf8b82ead232d36a5bfae4d4fad59ae36c.pdf
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Authors: Meyer, Peter B.
Publisher: Northwestern University
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure
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