Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses

Does computerization increase or reduce the extent of skills that workers are required to have? Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003) show empirically that adoption of computer-based technologies (CBT) was greater in industries historically intensive in routine tasks, and that computerization increased com...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Ben-Ner, Avner, Urtasun Alonso, Ainhoa
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2013
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Pública de Navarra
Repository:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
OAI Identifier:oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/23224
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2454/23224
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Computer-based technologies
Task complexity
Skilling-deskilling
id ES_94ee1b2eb553c5d3552ea426cc6be4b2
oai_identifier_str oai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/23224
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
spelling Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and lossesBen-Ner, AvnerUrtasun Alonso, AinhoaComputer-based technologiesTask complexitySkilling-deskillingDoes computerization increase or reduce the extent of skills that workers are required to have? Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003) show empirically that adoption of computer-based technologies (CBT) was greater in industries historically intensive in routine tasks, and that computerization increased complex problem-solving and communication activities and reduced routine cognitive and manual activities. We extend this argument and argue that the effects of CBT are neither universal nor uniform, but a bifurcation emerges: occupations that historically (pre-computerization) required low skills and entailed low-complexity tasks do not experience a lot of CBT in their environment, or if they do, they remain low skill (or in extremis become less skilled) occupations, whereas historically high-skill occupations that entailed high complexity see much CBT as well as increases in the skills they require. We test these propositions in a unique dataset that includes measures of the degree of computerization and changes attendant to computerization in the level of seven skills of core employees (content, complex problem-solving, etc.) for a sample of 819 firms in 2000. We link this dataset by core employees' occupation to US occupation-level data on three dimensions of task complexity (with respect to data, people and things) in 1971 (pre-CBT). We find that: (1) higher pre-CBT task complexity is associated with subsequent adoption and intensity of CBT; and (2) for occupations that were historically characterized by complex tasks, CBT affects most skills positively, but for simple tasks, CBT does not affect skills or affects them negatively. We replicate our analyses with the dataset and measures used by Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003) and obtain similar results. Our results shed light on the skill-based technological change and skilling-deskilling debates and suggest that the relationships are contingent in more nuanced ways than the literature has suggested.SAGEGestión de EmpresasEnpresen Kudeaketa2013info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2454/23224reponame:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarrainstname:Universidad Pública de NavarraInglés© by Cornell Universityinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:academica-e.unavarra.es:2454/232242026-06-17T12:41:47Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
title Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
spellingShingle Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
Ben-Ner, Avner
Computer-based technologies
Task complexity
Skilling-deskilling
title_short Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
title_full Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
title_fullStr Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
title_full_unstemmed Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
title_sort Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ben-Ner, Avner
Urtasun Alonso, Ainhoa
author Ben-Ner, Avner
author_facet Ben-Ner, Avner
Urtasun Alonso, Ainhoa
author_role author
author2 Urtasun Alonso, Ainhoa
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Gestión de Empresas
Enpresen Kudeaketa
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Computer-based technologies
Task complexity
Skilling-deskilling
topic Computer-based technologies
Task complexity
Skilling-deskilling
description Does computerization increase or reduce the extent of skills that workers are required to have? Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003) show empirically that adoption of computer-based technologies (CBT) was greater in industries historically intensive in routine tasks, and that computerization increased complex problem-solving and communication activities and reduced routine cognitive and manual activities. We extend this argument and argue that the effects of CBT are neither universal nor uniform, but a bifurcation emerges: occupations that historically (pre-computerization) required low skills and entailed low-complexity tasks do not experience a lot of CBT in their environment, or if they do, they remain low skill (or in extremis become less skilled) occupations, whereas historically high-skill occupations that entailed high complexity see much CBT as well as increases in the skills they require. We test these propositions in a unique dataset that includes measures of the degree of computerization and changes attendant to computerization in the level of seven skills of core employees (content, complex problem-solving, etc.) for a sample of 819 firms in 2000. We link this dataset by core employees' occupation to US occupation-level data on three dimensions of task complexity (with respect to data, people and things) in 1971 (pre-CBT). We find that: (1) higher pre-CBT task complexity is associated with subsequent adoption and intensity of CBT; and (2) for occupations that were historically characterized by complex tasks, CBT affects most skills positively, but for simple tasks, CBT does not affect skills or affects them negatively. We replicate our analyses with the dataset and measures used by Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003) and obtain similar results. Our results shed light on the skill-based technological change and skilling-deskilling debates and suggest that the relationships are contingent in more nuanced ways than the literature has suggested.
publishDate 2013
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2013
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
format article
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2454/23224
url https://hdl.handle.net/2454/23224
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv © by Cornell University
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv © by Cornell University
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv SAGE
publisher.none.fl_str_mv SAGE
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
instname:Universidad Pública de Navarra
instname_str Universidad Pública de Navarra
reponame_str Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
collection Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869413734034702336
score 15.812429

Similar Items