Working Paper: NBER ID: w7846
Authors: Nina Pavcnik
Abstract: Although many developing countries have experienced growing income inequality and an increase in the relative demand for skilled workers during the 1980s, the sources of this trend remain a puzzle. This paper examines whether investment and adoption of skill-biased technology have contributed to within-industry skill upgrading using plant-level data from Chile. Using semiparametric and parametric approaches, I investigate whether plant-level measures of capital and investment, the use of imported materials, foreign technical assistance, and patented technology affect the relative demand for skilled workers. I find positive relationship between these measures and skill upgrading. Capital deepening and the adoption of skill biased technology therefore might contribute to the increased relative demand for skilled workers within industries.
Keywords: skill upgrading; skill biased technology; technology transfers
JEL Codes: F16; J31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Capital investment (E22) | Relative demand for skilled workers (J29) |
| Adoption of skill-biased technology (J24) | Relative demand for skilled workers (J29) |
| Capital deepening (E22) | Relative demand for skilled workers (J29) |
| Investment in capital and technology adoption (E22) | Skill upgrading (J24) |
| Capital investment and technology adoption (E22) | Relative demand for skilled workers (J29) |