The Hidden Increase in Wage Inequality: Skill-biased and Ability-biased Technological Change

This study provides strong evidence for an increase in wage inequality induced by skillbiased technological change in the UK manufacturing industry between 1991 and 2006. Using individual level data from the BHPS and industry level data from the OECD, wage regressions are estimated which identify the eff ect of innovative activity on wages – the personal innovation wage premium – for university and less educated workers. Innovative activity is defi ned by R&D expenditure and patent applications to measure innovation input and innovation output, respectively. Using diff erent estimation methods for panel data, such as Fixed eff ects, Random eff ects, Mundlak and Hausman- Taylor models, additionally to pooled OLS allows controlling for both industry-specifi c and individual ability. Using R&D expenditure as a measure for innovative activity additionally provides evidence for ability-biased technological change while patent applications do not support this hypothesis.Wage inequality; skill-biased technological change; ability-biased technological change; United Kingdom

The Hidden Increase in Wage Inequality: Skill-biased and Ability-biased Technological Change

This study provides strong evidence for an increase in wage inequality induced by skillbiased technological change in the UK manufacturing industry between 1991 and 2006. Using individual level data from the BHPS and industry level data from the OECD, wage regressions are estimated which identify the effect of innovative activity on wages - the personal innovation wage premium - for university and less educated workers. Innovative activity is defi ned by R&D expenditure and patent applications to measure innovation input and innovation output, respectively. Using diff erent estimation methods for panel data, such as Fixed effects, Random effects, Mundlak and Hausman-Taylor models, additionally to pooled OLS allows controlling for both industry-specific and individual ability. Using R&D expenditure as a measure for innovative activity additionally provides evidence for ability-biased technological change while patent applications do not support this hypothesis.Die Einkommensungleichheit zwischen Hoch- und Geringqualifizierten in Großbritannien scheint im Gegensatz zu den 1970er und 1980er Jahren neuerdings nicht mehr anzusteigen. Diese Studie deckt auf, dass innerhalb des Produktionssektors Einkommensungleichheit durch qualifikationsverzerrten technologischen Fortschritt zwischen 1991 und 2006 durchaus angestiegen ist. Anhand von Personendaten des British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) und Industriedaten der OECD werden Lohnregressionen geschätzt, die den Effekt von Innovationsaktivität auf Löhne für Universitätsabsolventen im Vergleich zu geringer qualifizierten Arbeitnehmern identifizieren. Innovationsaktivität ist einerseits durch Ausgaben für F&E und andererseits durch Patentanmeldungen definiert, um sowohl Innovations-Input, als auch Innovations-Output zu messen. Verschiedene ökonometrische Panel-Schätzmethoden, wie Fixed Effects, Random Effects, Mundlak- und Hausman-Taylor-Modelle, ermöglichen es, für individuelle und industriespezifische Heterogenität zu kontrollieren. Anhand des F&E-Ausgaben-Indikators lässt sich außerdem Evidenz für fähigkeitsverzerrten technologischen Fortschritt finden, während dies anhand des Patentanmeldungen-Indikators nicht möglich ist

Migration Magnet: The Role of Work Experience in Rural-Urban Wage Diff erentials in Mexico

This study estimates separate selectivity bias corrected wage equations for formal and informal workers in rural and urban Mexico using data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS). We control for diff erent potential selection patterns using Probit and Multinominal logit models in the fi rst step in which health, personality traits and family characteristics serve as exclusion restrictions for working per se and working in the formal sector. Oaxaca-Blinder Decompositions show that rural-urban wage inequality in the formal and informal sector is determined by diff erences in observable human capital. In the informal sector, the wage diff erential is mainly explained by diff erences in returns to experience. Furthermore, we analyse rural-to-urban migrants‘ labour market performance. The fi ndings suggest that rural-to-urban migration will continue and the informal sector will further increase.Returns to experience; rural-urban wage diff erentials; informality; internal migration; Mexico

Authoritarian Practices in the Digital Age:Introduction

Academic debates on the role of digital technologies in authoritarian and democratic contexts rarely intersect. Research investigating the resilience of authoritarian regimes in the digital age generally runs parallel to inquiries about the “authoritarian qualities” of digital technologies in liberal democracies. Our Special Section breaks new ground by systematically examining authoritarian practices in relation to digital technologies in multilateral, transnational, and public–private settings. This introduction briefly explains the research agenda and aim of the collection, and then outlines its contributions

Reaching High: Occupational Sorting and Higher Education Wage Inequality in the UK

The Further and Higher Education Act of 1992 changed the Higher Education system in the UK by giving all polytechnics university status. Using the British Household Panel Survey and accounting for different sources of selection bias, we show that wage differentials between university and polytechnic graduates can be explained by a glass ceiling preventing polytechnic graduates from reaching professional occupations. After the reform, the glass ceiling disappeared and average wages of post-reform polytechnic graduates are not statistically different from average wages of post-reform graduates of traditional universities any more. This implies that the abolition of the 'two-tier' education system has reduced inequality among Higher Education graduates a result that may be desirable in other systems of a 'two-tier' nature

Migration Magnet: The Role of Work Experience in Rural-Urban Wage Differentials in Mexico

This study estimates separate selectivity bias corrected wage equations for formal and informal workers in rural and urban Mexico using data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS). We control for different potential selection patterns using Probit and Multinominal logit models in the first step in which health, personality traits and family characteristics serve as exclusion restrictions for working per se and working in the formal sector. Oaxaca-Blinder Decompositions show that rural-urban wage inequality in the formal and informal sector is determined by differences in observable human capital. In the informal sector, the wage diff erential is mainly explained by diff erences in returns to experience. Furthermore, we analyse rural-to-urban migrants' labour market performance. The findings suggest that rural-to-urban migration will continue and the informal sector will further increase.Diese Studie beschäftigt sich mit Lohnunterschieden zwischen ländlichen und städtischen Regionen in Mexiko. Anhand des mexikanischen Family Life Survey (MxFLS/ENNVIH) werden für formelle und informelle Arbeitnehmer Lohngleichungen geschätzt, die für potentielle Verzerrungen durch Selektionsprozesse kontrollieren. Anhand von Oaxaca-Blinder-Dekompositionen wird gezeigt, dass die Lohnungleichheit zwischen ländlichen und städtischen Arbeitnehmern im formellen sowie im informellen Sektor durch Unterschiede im Humankapital erklärt werden können. Zusätzlich lässt sich im informellen Sektor die Lohnungleichheit durch unterschiedliche Renditen für Arbeitserfahrung erklären. Darüber hinaus untersuchen wir den Arbeitsmarkterfolg von Land-Stadt-Migranten. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass die Land-Stadt-Migration in Zukunft andauern wird und der informelle Sektor in Mexikos Städten weiter ansteigen wird