Working Paper: NBER ID: w5606
Authors: John E. DiNardo; Jom Steffen Pischke
Abstract: Are the large measured wage differentials associated with on-the-job computer use productivity gains or the result of unobserved heterogeneity? We examine this issue with three large cross-sectional surveys from Germany. First, we confirm that the estimated wage differentials associated with computer use in Germany are very similar to the U.S. differential. Second, using the same techniques we also measure large differentials for on-the-job use of calculators, telephones, pens or pencils, or for those who work while sitting down. Along with our reanalysis of the U.S. data these findings cast some doubt on the interpretation of the computer-use wage differential as reflecting productivity effects arising from the introduction of computers in the workplace.
Keywords: wage differentials; computer use; skill-biased technological change
JEL Codes: J31; O33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| computer use (C89) | higher wages (J39) |
| higher wages (J39) | computer use (C89) |
| education and experience (I29) | wage differential (J31) |
| pencils use (L73) | higher wages (J39) |
| other job attributes (J29) | wage differentials (J31) |