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Quarterly Journal of Economics Vol. 113 No. 4 1998

Skilled Labor-Augmenting Technical Progress in U. S. Manufacturing

James R. Kahn1; Jong‐Se Lim2

1 Federal Reserve Bank of New York · 2 Kwangwoon University

Abstract

This paper examines the role of skilled labor in the growth of total factor productivity. We use panel data from manufacturing industries to assess the extent to which productivity growth in yearly cross sections is tied to industry shares of skilled labor inputs. We find robust evidence that productivity growth was increasingly concentrated in high-skill industries during a unique ten-year period beginning in the early 1970s. We do not find any positive association of productivity growth with new capital investment.

DOI
10.1162/003355398555810
Volume
113
Issue
4
Pages
1281-1308
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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