Technological Progress and the Distribution of Productivities across Sectors

Abstract

This paper studies the impact of the process of technological change on the distribution of productivities and profits across sectors. We find that if technological progress affects high-tech and traditional sectors differently, the impact of changes in the determinants of economic growth may differ depending on which is the actual change. When an economy is growing faster due to an increase in the productivity of research or to a reduction of the taxes on capital accumulation, inequality will decrease. However, if faster growth is due to the presence of tax incentives to high technology sectors or to structural changes that allow a better absorption of externalities, inequality will increase.