Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14320
Authors: Liudmila Alekseeva; Jos Azar; Mireia Gine; Sampsa Samila; Bledi Taska
Abstract: We document a dramatic increase in the demand for AI skills in online job postings over the period 2010-2019. The demand for AI skills is highest in IT occupations, followed by architecture/engineering, life/physical/social sciences, and management. The sectors with the highest demand for AI are information, professional services, and finance. At the firm level, higher demand for AI skills is associated in the cross-section with larger market capitalization, higher cash holdings, and higher investments in R\&D. We also document a large wage premium for job postings that require AI skills, as well as a wage premium for non-AI vacancies posted by firms with a high share of AI vacancies. Interestingly, managerial occupations have the highest wage premium for AI skills.
Keywords: artificial intelligence; machine learning; wage premium; technology diffusion
JEL Codes: No JEL codes provided
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Technological advancement (O00) | Demand for AI skills in online job postings (J23) |
| Firm characteristics (L25) | Demand for AI skills (J24) |
| Higher market capitalization (G10) | Demand for AI skills (J24) |
| Higher cash holdings (G32) | Demand for AI skills (J24) |
| Higher R&D investments (O39) | Demand for AI skills (J24) |
| AI skills (C45) | Wage premium (J31) |
| AI skills (controlling for local conditions and occupation) (J29) | Wage premium (J31) |
| Higher share of AI vacancies (C45) | Higher wages for non-AI positions (J39) |
| Complexity and strategic value of AI knowledge in management (D83) | Wage premium for managerial positions (J31) |