Working Paper: NBER ID: w22762
Authors: Brad Hershbein; Lisa B. Kahn
Abstract: We show that skill requirements in job vacancy postings differentially increased in MSAs that were hit hard by the Great Recession, relative to less hard-hit areas. These increases persist through at least the end of 2015 and are correlated with increases in capital investments, both at the MSA and firm-levels. We also find that effects are most pronounced in routine-cognitive occupations, which exhibit relative wage growth as well. We argue that this evidence is consistent with the restructuring of production toward routine-biased technologies and the more-skilled workers that complement them, and that the Great Recession accelerated this process.
Keywords: Routine-biased technological change; Great Recession; Skill requirements; Job vacancy postings
JEL Codes: D22; E32; J23; J24; M51; O33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Great Recession (G01) | skill requirements in job postings (M51) |
| skill requirements in job postings (M51) | capital investments (G31) |
| capital investments (G31) | restructuring production processes (L23) |
| Great Recession (G01) | routine-biased technologies (O33) |
| routine-biased technologies (O33) | higher-skilled labor (J24) |
| routine-cognitive occupations (R20) | relative wage growth (J31) |