Explaining job polarisation in Spain from a task perspective

Raquel Sebastian ()

SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, 2018, vol. 9, issue 2, No 4, 215-248

Abstract: Abstract This paper presents new evidence on the evolution of job polarisation in Spain between 1994 and 2014. After showing the U-shaped relationship between employment share growth and job’s percentile in the wage distribution, I use the task approach to investigate the main determinants behind job polarisation. Using the European Working Condition Survey I analyse in detail the task content of the jobs which display the most significant employment changes. I show that changes in employment shares are negatively related to the initial level of routine. I then explore the impact of computerisation on routine task inputs and I find that the routine measure is negatively related to computerisation. Finally, by using information on past jobs, I provide evidence on the displacement of middle-paid workers. Results suggest that they did not predominantly relocate their labour supply to bottom-paid occupations: while non-graduate middle workers move towards bottom occupations, graduate middle employees shift towards top occupations. This fact suggests that supply-side changes are important factors in explaining the expansion at the lower and upper tail of the employment distribution.

Keywords: Job polarisation; Structural change; Routine employment; Occupational mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J24 R12 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:series:v:9:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s13209-018-0177-1

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DOI: 10.1007/s13209-018-0177-1

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