The Rise of E-Commerce and the Local Wage Structure: Evidence from the Korean Retail Industry

Donghan Shin and Hyunbae Chun
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Donghan Shin: Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade
Hyunbae Chun: Sogang University

Korean Economic Review, 2023, vol. 39, 315-345

Abstract: The widespread adoption of e-commerce by households has had a significant impact on local brick-and-mortar retailers, changing the wage structure of local service workers. In this study, we examine the effect of e-commerce penetration (EP) among households on the local wage structure during the period 2011–2016. Using the novel measure of county-level EP based on consumers’ credit card transactions for online shopping, we find that counties with rapid EP exhibit a broader difference in the local wage growth of skilled and unskilled workers. An increased skill wage gap can be mainly attributed to the wage gains of highskilled workers, whereas the wages of most unskilled workers show little change. These findings suggest that the skill premium associated with e-commerce diffusion may be concentrated in urban regions where high-skilled workers are in abundance.

Keywords: E-Commerce; Wage; Skill; Local Labor Market; Credit Card (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 L86 O33 R11 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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