Non-Routine Tasks, Restructuring of Firms, and Wage Inequality within and between Skill-Groups
37 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2004
Date Written: February 2004
Abstract
This paper argues that endogenous restructuring processes within firms towards non-routine tasks like autonomous problem-solving and other analytical activities, triggered by advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) and rising supply of educated workers, are associated with an increase of wage inequality within education groups, possibly accompanied by a decline or stagnation of between-group wage dispersion. The mechanisms proposed in this research are not only consistent with the evolution of the distribution of wages in advanced countries, but also the evolution of workforce composition in firms and a frequently confirmed complementarity between skill-upgrading, new technologies and knowledge-based work organization.
Keywords: Non-routine tasks, Skill supply, Technological progress, Unobserved abilities, Within-group wage inequality
JEL Classification: D20, J31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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