Arbeitspapier
Skills, Tasks, and Complexity
We introduce a new task-based framework to describe production. It focuses on the fact that certain tasks are too complex for many workers to perform. In such an environment, the relationship between wages of workers may significantly differ from their relative productivities. The labor market partitions itself into submarkets, in which wages and productivity are aligned, and high-skilled workers may obtain wage premia above their productivity level. The framework offers a variety of applications. For instance, the automation of low-complexity tasks tends to reinforce labor market segmentation. Moreover, comparatively small changes in a task's complexity, via new products, processes or automation, may have either a negligible or a large impact on wage inequality.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 12770
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
Technological Change: Government Policy
- Subject
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skill
technological change
tasks
complexity
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Gersbach, Hans
Schmassmann, Samuel
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
- (where)
-
Bonn
- (when)
-
2019
- Handle
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Gersbach, Hans
- Schmassmann, Samuel
- Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
Time of origin
- 2019
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