Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 113 No. 4 1998

Computing Inequality: Have Computers Changed the Labor Market?

D. H. Autor^1,2,3,4; L. F. Katz^1,5; A. B. Krueger^1,2,6

¹ National Bureau of Economic Research · ² IZA - Institute of Labor Economics · ³ Harvard University Press · ⁴ Massachusetts Institute of Technology · ⁵ Harvard University · ⁶ Princeton University

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.

DOI

10.1162/003355398555874

Volume

113

Issue

4

Pages

1169-1213

Language

en

Sources

bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

Cite

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