Broadband Internet, Labor Demand, and Total Factor Productivity in Colombia

Ospino, Carlos

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: INTERNET;    BROADBAND;    LABOR MARKET;    LABOR DEMAND;    TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8318
RP-ID  :  WPS8318

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper studies the relationshipbetween information and communication technology, labordemand, and total factor productivity in Colombia. Itestimates total factor productivity for the Colombianmanufacturing sector using a method that assumes a law ofmotion where total factor productivity evolves according toan autoregressive process of order 1 as well as with thepast use of broadband technologies. Using fixed effectsmodels, the paper estimates the effect of broadband use onthe labor demand of different workers, controlling for totalfactor productivity, capital, and wages. To address thepotential endogeneity between broadband adoption and labordemand, the analysis uses state-industry level variation inbroadband quality (speed) and intensity of use. The resultsshow a positive association of broadband adoption on labordemand, suggesting that adoption of information andcommunication technology can offset the employment effectsof technological growth. Attempts to identify causal effectsusing an instrumental variable approach were inconclusive.