Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings

Brad Hershbein and Lisa Kahn

American Economic Review, 2018, vol. 108, issue 7, 1737-72

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.

JEL-codes: E24 E32 J24 J31 J63 L23 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.20161570
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (322)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings (2016)
Working Paper: Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings (2016)
Working Paper: Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings
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