The New Wave? The Role of Human Capital and STEM Skills in Technology Adoption in the UK

Mirko Draca (), Max Nathan, Viet Nguyen-Tien, Juliana Oliveira-Cunha, Anna Rosso () and Anna Valero ()
Additional contact information
Mirko Draca: London School of Economics
Viet Nguyen-Tien: London School of Economics
Juliana Oliveira-Cunha: London School of Economics
Anna Rosso: University of Milan
Anna Valero: London School of Economics

No 17329, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Which types of human capital influence the adoption of advanced technologies? We study the skill-biased adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) across two waves in the UK. Specifically, we compare the 'new wave' of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies during the 2010s - pre-LLM - with the previous wave of personal computer adoption in the 1990s and early 2000s. At the area-level we see the emergence of a distinct STEM-biased adoption effect for the second wave of cloud and machine learning / AI technologies (ML/AI), alongside a general skill-biased effect. A one-standard deviation increase in the baseline share of STEM workers in areas is associated with around 0.3 of a standard deviation higher adoption of cloud and ML/AI. We find similar effects at the firm level where we are able to test for the influence of a wide range of skills. In turn, this STEM-biased adoption pattern has encouraged the concentration of these technologies, leading to more acute differences between high-tech and low-tech areas and firms. In contrast with classical technology diffusion, recent cloud and ML/AI adoption in the UK seems more likely to widen inequalities than reduce them.

Keywords: human capital; ICT; technology diffusion; STEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 J24 O33 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ict, nep-lma, nep-sbm and nep-tid
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The new wave? The role of human capital and STEM skills in technology adoption in the UK (2024)
Working Paper: The New Wave? The Role of Human Capital and STEM Skills in Technology Adoption in the UK (2024)
Working Paper: The New Wave? The Role of Human Capital and STEM Skills in Technology Adoption in the UK (2024)
Working Paper: The New Wave? The Role of Human Capital and STEM Skills in Technology Adoption in the UK (2024)
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