The Impact of Digital Technologies on Routine Tasks : Do Labor Policies Matter?

Almeida, Rita K. ; Corseuil, Carlos H.L. ; Poole, Jennifer P.

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: LABOR POLICY;    DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY;    INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY;    SKILLS;    JOBS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8187
RP-ID  :  WPS8187

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

There is a strong concern thattechnology is increasingly replacing routine tasks,displacing lower-skilled workers. Labor market institutionsexist to protect workers from shocks but, by increasinglabor costs, labor policy may also constrain firms fromadjusting the workforce and, hence, from fully benefitingfrom technology adoption. This paper assesses the linkbetween access to digital technologies and the demand forskills in the largest Latin American country, Brazil.Between 1996 and 2006, the country experienced a period ofstrong growth in Internet service provision, as well as inthe enforcement of labor market regulations at thesubnational level. The paper's empirical strategyexploits administrative data to assess the extent to whichthe adoption of digital technology affects employment andthe skill content of jobs at the local level. In addition,the paper investigates whether the stringency of laborregulations influences this adjustment, by comparing theeffect across industries subject to different degrees ofenforcement of labor regulations. Using the fact thatindustries vary in the degree of reliance on digitaltechnologies, the estimates suggest that digital technologyadoption leads to a reduction in employment in local labormarkets. The decrease in employment is larger for routinetasks, thereby shifting the composition of the workforcetoward nonroutine, cognitive skills. However, and incontrast with labor policy intentions, the evidence pointsto the idea that labor market regulations differentiallybenefit the skilled workforce, particularly those workersemployed in nonroutine, cognitive tasks.