Technology and Labor Regulation: Evidence from the Retail Sector in India

10 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2008

See all articles by Mohammad Amin

Mohammad Amin

World Bank - Enterprise Analysis Unit

Date Written: March 2008

Abstract

A commonly held but untested belief is that the adoption of modern technology such as computers could be endogenous to labor regulations. We test for this belief using micro data at the store level for the retail sector in India. Our results show a strong positive relationship between the severity of labor laws and computer usage confirming the stated belief while for other business regulations, this relationship is negative. We discuss the broader implications of our findings for employment generation, income inequality between the skilled and unskilled and for estimating the productivity enhancing effects of computer usage.

Keywords: Labor regulations, Technology, India, Retail

JEL Classification: J080, K31, L81, O33, O53

Suggested Citation

Amin, Mohammad, Technology and Labor Regulation: Evidence from the Retail Sector in India (March 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1101955 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1101955

Mohammad Amin (Contact Author)

World Bank - Enterprise Analysis Unit ( email )

2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

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