Skill biased organisational change?: evidence from British and French establishments

Caroli, E. and Van Reenen, John ORCID: 0000-0001-9153-2907 (2001) Skill biased organisational change?: evidence from British and French establishments. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116 (4). pp. 1449-1492. ISSN 0033-5533

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Abstract

This paper investigates the determination and consequences of organizational changes (OC) in a panel of British and French establishments. Organizational changes include the decentralization of authority, delayering of managerial functions, and increased multitasking. We argue that OC and skills are complements. We offer support for the hypothesis of “skill-biased” organizational change with three empirical findings. First, organizational changes reduce the demand for unskilled workers in both countries. Second, OC is negatively associated with increases in regional skill price differentials (a measure of the relative supply of skill). Third, OC leads to greater productivity increases in establishments with larger initial skill endowments. Technical change is also complementary with human capital, but the effects of OC is not simply due to its correlation with technological change but has an independent role.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://qje.oxfordjournals.org/
Additional Information:	© 2001 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Divisions:	Economics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	F - International Economics > F0 - General
Date Deposited:	05 Jul 2007
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 22:25
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/5

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