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The Impact of Computers on the Employment of Clerks and Managers

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  • Paul Osterman

Abstract

This paper investigates how the increased use of computers affects clerical and managerial employment. The author hypothesizes that the much-discussed displacement effect—computers taking over for clerks—is offset at least in part by complementary effects. For example, computers may increase clerical and managerial employment by lowering unit cost, thus expanding production, and by inducing structural reorganization of the firm. Analyzing new data from a national survey of computer installations by industry, the author finds that the net effect of computers in 1972–78 was to depress the employment of clerks and managers substantially, but that the pattern over time—a larger displacement effect in the first few years, followed by increased clerical and managerial employment—supports the bureaucratic reorganization hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Osterman, 1986. "The Impact of Computers on the Employment of Clerks and Managers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 39(2), pages 175-186, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:39:y:1986:i:2:p:175-186
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    Cited by:

    1. Hilal Atasoy & Rajiv D. Banker & Paul A. Pavlou, 2016. "On the Longitudinal Effects of IT Use on Firm-Level Employment," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 27(1), pages 6-26, March.
    2. Peter Cappelli, 1995. "Rethinking Employment," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 563-602, December.
    3. Mehmet Ugur & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Edna Solomon, 2018. "Technological Innovation And Employment In Derived Labour Demand Models: A Hierarchical Meta†Regression Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 50-82, February.
    4. Ugur, Mehmet & Awaworyi, Sefa & Solomon, Edna, 2016. "Technological innovation and employment in derived labour demand models: A hierarchical meta-regression analysis," MPRA Paper 73557, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Catherine J. Morrison, 2000. "Assessing The Productivity Of Information Technology Equipment In U.S. Manufacturing Industries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(3), pages 471-481, August.
    6. Van Reenen, John, 1997. "Employment and Technological Innovation: Evidence from U.K. Manufacturing Firms," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 255-284, April.
    7. Ernst R. Berndt & Catherine J. Morrison & Larry S. Rosenblum, 1992. "High-Tech Capital Formation and Labor Composition in U.S. Manufacturing Industries: An Exploratory Analysis," NBER Working Papers 4010, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. G.R. Arabsheibani & J.M. Emami & A. Marin, 2004. "The Impact of Computer Use On Earnings in the UK," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 51(1), pages 82-94, February.
    9. Levent V. Orman, 2002. "Electronic Markets, Hierarchies, Hubs, and Intermediaries," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 213-228, July.
    10. Kun Shin Im & Varun Grover & James T. C. Teng, 2013. "Research Note---Do Large Firms Become Smaller by Using Information Technology?," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 470-491, June.

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