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Applied EconomicsVolume 43, Issue 29, December 2011, Pages 4607-4622

Computers, skills and wages(Article)(Open Access)

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  • aDepartment of Economics, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, Netherlands
  • bResearch Centre for Education and the Labour Market, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
  • cCPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Research, PO Box 80510, 2508GM, The Hague, Netherlands
  • dUNU-MERIT, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands

Abstract

Computer technology is most prominently used by skilled, high-wage workers. This suggests that computer use requires skills to take full advantage of the possibilities, which are particularly present among relatively skilled workers. This article develops a simple technology adoption model showing that the decision to adopt computer technology depends on (i) the tasks to be performed, (ii) the level of skill or education and (iii) the level of wages. Applying this model to British data, it is shown that the effect of wages and particular tasks on computer adoption is larger than the effect of skills on adoption. The estimates suggest that in Britain computer use is likely to be a matter of cost efficiency and not so much of workers' skills. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.

Indexed keywords

GEOBASE Subject Index:computer systememploymentskilled labortechnology adoptionwage
Regional Index:United Kingdom

Funding details

Funding sponsor Funding number Acronym
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk OnderzoekNWO

  • 1

    We would like to thank the referee of this journal, Daron Acemoglu, Josh Angrist, David Autor, Eli Berman, Clair Brown, Allard Bruinshoofd, Francesco Caselli, Eric Gould, Hans Heijke, Hugo Hollanders, Caroline Hoxby, Adriaan Kalwij, Lawrence Katz, Francis Kramarz, Alan Krueger, Erzo Luttmer, Markus Möbius, Richard Murnane, Jörn-Steffen Pischke, Arthur van Soest, Luc Soete, John Van Reenen, Bruce Weinberg, Finis Welch, Thomas Ziesemer and seminar participants at EALE, EEA, ECIS, Harvard, LSE, MERIT, CentER, the University of Oxford and ZEW for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. We are particularly grateful to Alan Felstead and Francis Green for providing the data and for comments on an earlier version of this article. This research has been supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

  • ISSN: 00036846
  • Source Type: Journal
  • Original language: English
  • DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2010.493138
  • Document Type: Article

  Ter Weel, B.; CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Research, PO Box 80510, Netherlands;
© Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Cited by 2 documents

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