Computerisation and Wage Dispersion: An Analytical Reinterpretation

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; computerisation in the workplace. I offer a theory of computers' impact on white-collar...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Economic journal (London) Vol. 109; no. 456; pp. 390 - 415
Main Author Bresnahan, Timothy F.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK and Boston, USA Blackwell Publishers Ltd 01.06.1999
Blackwell Publishers
Cambridge University Press
Oxford University Press
Subjects
Computer systems
Computer technology
Computers
Corporate bureaucracy
Economic theory
Income distribution
Income inequality
Labor demand
Labor market
Labor markets
Labour market
Personal computers
Shifts in demand
Skill differentials
Studies
Technology Feature
Thinking skills
Wage differentials
Wages
White collar workers
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary: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; computerisation in the workplace. I offer a theory of computers' impact on white-collar work which goes far toward explaining the timing, form, and locus of recent labour market changes. The theory looks at the bureaucratic and organisational applications of computers that have been first, largest, and most influential. They have two effects on firms' demand for labour at different skill levels.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-TZDD3TVL-G
istex:0B15DFAA1DAE0184B67B6198FB04ACB7552EC893
ArticleID:ECOJ442
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0013-0133
1468-0297
DOI:10.1111/1468-0297.00442