Technology, Computers, and Wages : Evidence from a Developing Economy

Technology, Computers, and Wages : Evidence from a Developing Economy

Increasing returns to schooling and rising inequality are well documented for industrial countries and for some developing countries. The growing demand for skills is associated with recent technological developments. The authors argue that computers in the workplace represent one manifestation of these changes. Research in the United States and industrial countries documents a premium for computer use. But there is recent evidence suggesting that computer skills by themselves do not command a wage premium. The authors review the literature and use data from a survey of higher education graduates in Vietnam. The results support the unobserved heterogeneity explanation for computer wage premiums. They suggest that computers may make the productive workers even more productive. However, given the scarcity of computers in low-income countries, an operational strategy of increasing computer availability and skills would seem to offer considerable hope for increasing the incomes of the poor.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sakellariou, Chris N., Patrinos, Harry A.
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2003-03
Subjects:RETURNS TO SCHOOLING, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, COMPUTERS, COMPUTER WORKSTATIONS, COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, HIGHER EDUCATION, WAGES, LABOR PRODUCTIVITY, COMPUTER ACCESS CONTROL, INCOME GENERATION ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY, BASIC EDUCATION, CHIPS, COMPUTER SKILLS, COMPUTER USAGE, COMPUTER USE, COMPUTER USERS, DECENTRALIZATION, DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, DOCUMENTS, EDUCATION ECONOMICS, EDUCATION LEVEL, EDUCATION SECTOR, INVESTMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY, KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY, LEADERSHIP, LEARNING, MODELING, NETWORKS, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, NEW TECHNOLOGY, ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE, PAPERS, PERSONAL COMPUTERS, PROGRAMMING, RATES OF RETURN, READING, READING COMPREHENSION, SCHOOL QUALITY, SCHOOLING, TEACHING, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE, TELECOMMUNICATION, TELECOMMUNICATION REFORM, TENURE, TERTIARY EDUCATION, TEST SCORES, VOUCHERS, WORD PROCESSING, ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY, INCOME GENERATION,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/03/2191895/technology-computers-wages-evidence-developing-economy
https://hdl.handle.net/10986/18308
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Summary:Increasing returns to schooling and rising inequality are well documented for industrial countries and for some developing countries. The growing demand for skills is associated with recent technological developments. The authors argue that computers in the workplace represent one manifestation of these changes. Research in the United States and industrial countries documents a premium for computer use. But there is recent evidence suggesting that computer skills by themselves do not command a wage premium. The authors review the literature and use data from a survey of higher education graduates in Vietnam. The results support the unobserved heterogeneity explanation for computer wage premiums. They suggest that computers may make the productive workers even more productive. However, given the scarcity of computers in low-income countries, an operational strategy of increasing computer availability and skills would seem to offer considerable hope for increasing the incomes of the poor.

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