Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings

80 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2016 Last revised: 13 Mar 2022

See all articles by Brad Hershbein

Brad Hershbein

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research

Lisa Kahn

Yale School of Management

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 2016

Abstract

We show that skill requirements in job vacancy postings differentially increased in MSAs that were hit hard by the Great Recession, relative to less hard-hit areas. These increases persist through at least the end of 2015 and are correlated with increases in capital investments, both at the MSA and firm-levels. We also find that effects are most pronounced in routine-cognitive occupations, which exhibit relative wage growth as well. We argue that this evidence is consistent with the restructuring of production toward routine-biased technologies and the more-skilled workers that complement them, and that the Great Recession accelerated this process.

Suggested Citation

Hershbein, Brad and Kahn, Lisa, Do Recessions Accelerate Routine-Biased Technological Change? Evidence from Vacancy Postings (October 2016). NBER Working Paper No. w22762, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2858092

Brad Hershbein (Contact Author)

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research ( email )

Lisa Kahn

Yale School of Management ( email )

135 Prospect Street
P.O. Box 208200
New Haven, CT 06520-8200
United States

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