Computerisation and Wage Dispersion: An Analytical Reinterpretation

Timothy Bresnahan ()

Economic Journal, 1999, vol. 109, issue 456, F390-415

Abstract: The rich countries have recently seen a dramatic rise in income inequality, all the more surprising because the long-term trend had been toward equality. This paper examines one of the leading explanations: computerization in the workplace. The author offers a theory of computers' impact on white-collar work which goes far toward explaining the timing, form, and locus of recent labor market changes. The theory looks at the bureaucratic and organizational applications of computers that have been first, largest, and most influential. They have two effects on firms' demand for labor at different skill levels.

Date: 1999
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (138)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecj:econjl:v:109:y:1999:i:456:p:f390-415

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... al.asp?ref=0013-0133

Access Statistics for this article

Economic Journal is currently edited by Martin Cripps, Steve Machin, Woulter den Haan, Andrea Galeotti, Rachel Griffith and Frederic Vermeulen

More articles in Economic Journal from Royal Economic Society Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley-Blackwell Digital Licensing () and Christopher F. Baum ().