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Skilled Labor—Augmenting Technical Progress in U.S. Manufacturing, Research Paper 9738

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Skilled Labor—Augmenting Technical Progress in U.S. Manufacturing, Research Paper 9738

DATE: December 1997

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ABSTRACT: This paper examines the role of skilled labor in the growth of total factor productivity. We use panel data from manufacturing industries within the United States to assess the extent to which productivity growth in yearly cross-sections of U.S. manufacturing industries is tied to industry shares of skilled labor inputs. We find evidence of an explosion in skilled-labor augmenting technological progress during the period from approximately 1972 to 1981, which precedes a period of suddenly increasing wage inequality and rapid growth in the relative wages of educated and experienced workers. We also provide evidence from aggregate manufacturing data that confirm this shift pre- and post-1972, and show that all of the findings are broadly consistent with the behavior of relative wages and employment.

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Kahn, James A. (James Allan) and Lim, Jong-Soo. "Skilled Labor—Augmenting Technical Progress in U.S. Manufacturing, Research Paper 9738," Research Papers (Federal Reserve Bank of New York) (December 1997). https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/6570/item/615590, accessed on March 31, 2023.

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THEMES: CLASSIFICATION:
  • lcc: HG136 .R45 no.9738
IDENTIFIERS:
  • oclc: 40344584
  • repec: fip:fednrp:9738
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