The skill content of technological change in Sweden, 1870–1920: A sectoral and regional analysis
(2019) EKHS32 20191Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- Technological change is an important source for long-term economic growth, but it may also affect the labor markets by creating and eliminating jobs. While new technologies have not caused massive unemployment, there has been a change in the type of jobs over time, which may affect inequality. Contemporary studies have shown that technological change has caused labor polarization through decreasing demand for middling skills while increasing demand for skills at both ends of the skill distribution. Historical evidence has received more mixed results. This study contributes to the historical literature by exploring the changes in the skill composition of the Swedish labor markets between 1870 and 1920. The data was collected from population... (More)
- Technological change is an important source for long-term economic growth, but it may also affect the labor markets by creating and eliminating jobs. While new technologies have not caused massive unemployment, there has been a change in the type of jobs over time, which may affect inequality. Contemporary studies have shown that technological change has caused labor polarization through decreasing demand for middling skills while increasing demand for skills at both ends of the skill distribution. Historical evidence has received more mixed results. This study contributes to the historical literature by exploring the changes in the skill composition of the Swedish labor markets between 1870 and 1920. The data was collected from population censuses and organized based on HISCO and HISCLASS schemes into different skills. By utilizing shift-share analysis and within-between decomposition, this study considers the national and regional effects on the increase of different types of skills and separates the effects from between-sector structural change and within-sector skill upgrading. The results show that there was a shift from unskilled to less-skilled labor driven by strong growth in the industrial sector. The less pronounced growth in more-skilled labor was more characterized by within-sector skill upgrading, but this was offset largely by structural change. This thesis thus contributes to the income inequality literature by showing how labor shifts to industrial sector potentially hindered the increase in income inequality by offsetting skill-biased technological change. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8987146
- author
- Heikkuri, Suvi LU
- supervisor
-
- Olof Ejermo LU
- organization
- course
- EKHS32 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Technological change, Skills, Industrialization, Historical labor markets
- language
- English
- id
- 8987146
- date added to LUP
- 2019-08-22 08:29:02
- date last changed
- 2019-08-22 08:29:02
@misc{8987146,
abstract = {{Technological change is an important source for long-term economic growth, but it may also affect the labor markets by creating and eliminating jobs. While new technologies have not caused massive unemployment, there has been a change in the type of jobs over time, which may affect inequality. Contemporary studies have shown that technological change has caused labor polarization through decreasing demand for middling skills while increasing demand for skills at both ends of the skill distribution. Historical evidence has received more mixed results. This study contributes to the historical literature by exploring the changes in the skill composition of the Swedish labor markets between 1870 and 1920. The data was collected from population censuses and organized based on HISCO and HISCLASS schemes into different skills. By utilizing shift-share analysis and within-between decomposition, this study considers the national and regional effects on the increase of different types of skills and separates the effects from between-sector structural change and within-sector skill upgrading. The results show that there was a shift from unskilled to less-skilled labor driven by strong growth in the industrial sector. The less pronounced growth in more-skilled labor was more characterized by within-sector skill upgrading, but this was offset largely by structural change. This thesis thus contributes to the income inequality literature by showing how labor shifts to industrial sector potentially hindered the increase in income inequality by offsetting skill-biased technological change.}},
author = {{Heikkuri, Suvi}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The skill content of technological change in Sweden, 1870–1920: A sectoral and regional analysis}},
year = {{2019}},
}