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On the employment effect of technology : evidence from U.S. manufacturing for 1958-1996

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  • Yongsung Chang
  • Jay H. Hong

Abstract

Recently, Gal and others have found that technological progress may be contractionary: a favorable technology shock reduces hours worked in the short run. We ask whether this observation is robust in disaggregate data. According to our VAR analysis of 458 four-digit U.S. manufacturing industries for 1958-1996, some industries do exhibit temporary reduction in hours in response to a permanent increase in TFP. However, there are far more industries in which technological progress significantly increases hours. Using micro data on average price duration, we ask whether the difference across industries is related to the stickiness of industry-output prices. Among 87 manufacturing goods, we do not find such a relation.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongsung Chang & Jay H. Hong, 2003. "On the employment effect of technology : evidence from U.S. manufacturing for 1958-1996," Working Paper 03-06, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedrwp:03-06
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    Cited by:

    1. Chahnez Boudaya, 2006. "Stage-specific technology shocks and employment :could we reconcile with the RBC models?," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques v06043, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    2. Chahnez Boudaya, 2005. "The effects of technological innovations on employment: a new explanation," Post-Print halshs-00193600, HAL.
    3. Giancarlo Corsetti & Luca Dedola & Sylvain Leduc, 2008. "Productivity, External Balance, and Exchange Rates: Evidence on the Transmission Mechanism among G7 Countries," NBER Chapters, in: NBER International Seminar on Macroeconomics 2006, pages 117-194, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Francesco Franco & Thomas Philippon, 2007. "Firms and Aggregate Dynamics," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(4), pages 587-600, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technology; Wages; Employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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