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The polarization of employment in German local labor markets

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  • Senftleben, Charlotte
  • Wielandt, Hanna

Abstract

This paper uses the task-based view of technological change to study employment and wage polarization at the level of local labor markets in Germany between 1979 and 2007. In order to directly relate technological change to subsequent employment trends, we exploit variation in the regional task structure which reflects a region's potential of being affected by computerization. We build a measure of regional routine intensity to test whether there has been a reallocation from routine towards non-routine labor conditional on a region's initial computerization potential. We find that routine intensive regions have witnessed a differential reallocation towards non-routine employment and an increase in low- and medium-skilled service occupations. Our results corroborate the predictions of the task-based framework and confirm previous evidence on employment polarization in Germany in the sense that employment growth deteriorates at the middle of the skill distribution relative to the lower and the upper tail of the distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Senftleben, Charlotte & Wielandt, Hanna, 2012. "The polarization of employment in German local labor markets," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2012-013, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:sfb649:sfb649dp2012-013
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    2. Rendall, Michelle & Weiss, Franziska J., 2016. "Employment polarization and the role of the apprenticeship system," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 166-186.
    3. 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.
    4. Eichhorst, Werner & Arni, Patrick & Buhlmann, Florian & Isphording, Ingo E. & Tobsch, Verena, 2015. "Wandel der Beschäftigung: Polarisierungstendenzen auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt," IZA Research Reports 68, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    job tasks; polarization; technological change; service occupations; regional labor markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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