SKILL-BIASED TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE AND THE BUSINESS CYCLE

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Balleer, Almut; van Rens, Thijs
• 署名单位: RWTH Aachen University; University of Warwick
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/REST_a_00326
• 发表日期: 2013-10
• 页码: 1222-1237
• 关键词: long-run restrictions; technical change; INEQUALITY; shocks; wages; COMPLEMENTARITY; education; demand; output

摘要

Over the past two decades, technological progress in the United States has been biased toward skilled labor. What does this imply for business cycles? We construct a quarterly skill premium from the CPS and use it to identify skill-biased technology shocks in a VAR with long-run zero and sign restrictions. Hours fall in response to skill-biased technology shocks, indicating that part of the technology-induced fall in hours is due to a compositional shift in labor demand. Investment-specific technology shocks reduce the skill premium, indicating that capital and skill are not complementary in aggregate production.