The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter?
There is a strong concern that technology is increasingly replacing routine tasks, displacing lower-skilled workers. Labor market institutions exist to protect workers from shocks but, by increasing labor costs, labor policy may also constrain firm...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/880331504875104459/The-impact-of-digital-technologies-on-routine-tasks-do-labor-policies-matter http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28364 |
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okr-10986-283642021-06-08T14:42:48Z The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter? Almeida, Rita K. Corseuil, Carlos H.L. Poole, Jennifer P. LABOR POLICY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS JOBS ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYMENT There is a strong concern that technology is increasingly replacing routine tasks, displacing lower-skilled workers. Labor market institutions exist to protect workers from shocks but, by increasing labor costs, labor policy may also constrain firms from adjusting the workforce and, hence, from fully benefiting from technology adoption. This paper assesses the link between access to digital technologies and the demand for skills in the largest Latin American country, Brazil. Between 1996 and 2006, the country experienced a period of strong growth in Internet service provision, as well as in the enforcement of labor market regulations at the subnational level. The paper's empirical strategy exploits administrative data to assess the extent to which the adoption of digital technology affects employment and the skill content of jobs at the local level. In addition, the paper investigates whether the stringency of labor regulations influences this adjustment, by comparing the effect across industries subject to different degrees of enforcement of labor regulations. Using the fact that industries vary in the degree of reliance on digital technologies, the estimates suggest that digital technology adoption leads to a reduction in employment in local labor markets. The decrease in employment is larger for routine tasks, thereby shifting the composition of the workforce toward nonroutine, cognitive skills. However, and in contrast with labor policy intentions, the evidence points to the idea that labor market regulations differentially benefit the skilled workforce, particularly those workers employed in nonroutine, cognitive tasks. 2017-09-21T19:01:31Z 2017-09-21T19:01:31Z 2017-09 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/880331504875104459/The-impact-of-digital-technologies-on-routine-tasks-do-labor-policies-matter http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28364 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8187 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Latin America & Caribbean Brazil |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
LABOR POLICY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS JOBS ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYMENT |
| spellingShingle |
LABOR POLICY DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS JOBS ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYMENT Almeida, Rita K. Corseuil, Carlos H.L. Poole, Jennifer P. The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter? |
| geographic_facet |
Latin America & Caribbean Brazil |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8187 |
| description |
There is a strong concern that
technology is increasingly replacing routine tasks,
displacing lower-skilled workers. Labor market institutions
exist to protect workers from shocks but, by increasing
labor costs, labor policy may also constrain firms from
adjusting the workforce and, hence, from fully benefiting
from technology adoption. This paper assesses the link
between access to digital technologies and the demand for
skills in the largest Latin American country, Brazil.
Between 1996 and 2006, the country experienced a period of
strong growth in Internet service provision, as well as in
the enforcement of labor market regulations at the
subnational level. The paper's empirical strategy
exploits administrative data to assess the extent to which
the adoption of digital technology affects employment and
the skill content of jobs at the local level. In addition,
the paper investigates whether the stringency of labor
regulations influences this adjustment, by comparing the
effect across industries subject to different degrees of
enforcement of labor regulations. Using the fact that
industries vary in the degree of reliance on digital
technologies, the estimates suggest that digital technology
adoption leads to a reduction in employment in local labor
markets. The decrease in employment is larger for routine
tasks, thereby shifting the composition of the workforce
toward nonroutine, cognitive skills. However, and in
contrast with labor policy intentions, the evidence points
to the idea that labor market regulations differentially
benefit the skilled workforce, particularly those workers
employed in nonroutine, cognitive tasks. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Almeida, Rita K. Corseuil, Carlos H.L. Poole, Jennifer P. |
| author_facet |
Almeida, Rita K. Corseuil, Carlos H.L. Poole, Jennifer P. |
| author_sort |
Almeida, Rita K. |
| title |
The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter? |
| title_short |
The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter? |
| title_full |
The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter? |
| title_fullStr |
The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter? |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter? |
| title_sort |
impact of digital technologies on routine tasks : do labor policies matter? |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2017 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/880331504875104459/The-impact-of-digital-technologies-on-routine-tasks-do-labor-policies-matter http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28364 |
| _version_ |
1764466715541897216 |