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The effects of technology and offshoring on changes in employment and task-content of occupations

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  • Semih Akcomak
  • Suzanne Kok
  • Hugo Rojas-Romagosa

Abstract

Combining employment data with the British Skill Survey (BSS) –which has comparable within-occupation task data for three waves: 1997, 2001 and 2006– we analyse employment changes between occupations (extensive margin) and within occupations (intensive margin). First, we find that the task-content of occupations (i.e. the intensive margin) has experienced significant changes in the United Kingdom between 1997 and 2006. Second, our econometric results suggest that these intensive margin changes can be explained by technological improvements (SBTC) and unionisation levels, while offshoring has not been a factor explaining how tasks are organized within occupations. Analysing changes at the extensive margin we confirm previous findings in the literature: there has been job polarization for both the UK and the Netherlands, and this job polarization can be explained by both SBTC and offshoring, though SBTC seems to be a more influential factor.

Suggested Citation

  • Semih Akcomak & Suzanne Kok & Hugo Rojas-Romagosa, 2013. "The effects of technology and offshoring on changes in employment and task-content of occupations," CPB Discussion Paper 233, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpb:discus:233
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sebastian, Raquel & Harrison, Scott, 2017. "Beyond technological explanations of employment polarisation in Spain," GLO Discussion Paper Series 154, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Finn Martensen, 2014. "Routinization and the Decline of the U.S. Minimum Wage," Working Paper Series of the Department of Economics, University of Konstanz 2014-16, Department of Economics, University of Konstanz.
    3. Andrea Salvatori, 2018. "The anatomy of job polarisation in the UK," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 52(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Filippo Bontadini & Rinaldo Evangelista & Valentina Meliciani & Maria Savona, 2019. "Integration in Global Value Chains and Employment in Europe," SPRU Working Paper Series 2019-16, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    5. Colja Schneck, 2021. "Trends in Wage Inequality in the Netherlands," De Economist, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 253-289, August.
    6. Sebastian Lago Raquel & Federico Biagi, 2018. "The Routine Biased Technical Change hypothesis: a critical review," JRC Research Reports JRC113174, Joint Research Centre.
    7. Semih Akcomak & H. Burcu Gurcihan, 2013. "Turkiye Isgucu Piyasasinda Mesleklerin Onemi : Hizmetler Sektoru Istihdami, Isgucu ve Ucret Kutuplasmasi," Working Papers 1321, Research and Monetary Policy Department, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.
    8. Paul Gaggl & Greg C. Wright, 2017. "A Short-Run View of What Computers Do: Evidence from a UK Tax Incentive," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 262-294, July.
    9. Jasmine Mondolo, 2022. "The composite link between technological change and employment: A survey of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1027-1068, September.
    10. Bramucci, Alessandro & Cirillo, Valeria & Evangelista, Rinaldo & Guarascio, Dario, 2021. "Offshoring, industry heterogeneity and employment11This paper is the research outcome of two projects: the ISIGrowth project on Innovation-fuelled, Sustainable, Inclusive Growth funded by the European," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 400-411.
    11. Ipsita Roy & Davide Consoli, 2018. "Employment Polarization in Germany: Role of Technology, Trade and Human Capital," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(2), pages 251-279, June.
    12. repec:esx:essedp:752 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business

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