Are We Nearly There Yet?: New Technology Adoption and Labor Demand in Peru

Forecasts about the effect of new technologies on labor demand are generally pessimistic. However, little is known about the current level of adoption and the effect on labor demand, particularly in developing countries. This paper exploits a recent employer survey in Peru to offer empirical evidence in these regards. Our results show that although the adoption of new technologies by firms is still incipient, it increases the labor demand of higher-skilled workers and does not affect the demand of the low-skilled. The adoption of new technologies will possibly increase in Peru, but, in the meantime, there is still chance for investing in workers’ skills, so they become less automatable and more productive.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Inter-American Development Bank
Other Authors: Rafael Novella
Language:English
Published: Inter-American Development Bank
Subjects:Technology Adoption, Labor Demand, Labor Productivity, J24 - Human Capital • Skills • Occupational Choice • Labor Productivity, O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences • Diffusion Processes, J23 - Labor Demand,
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0001837
https://publications.iadb.org/en/are-we-nearly-there-yet-new-technology-adoption-and-labor-demand-peru
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Summary:Forecasts about the effect of new technologies on labor demand are generally pessimistic. However, little is known about the current level of adoption and the effect on labor demand, particularly in developing countries. This paper exploits a recent employer survey in Peru to offer empirical evidence in these regards. Our results show that although the adoption of new technologies by firms is still incipient, it increases the labor demand of higher-skilled workers and does not affect the demand of the low-skilled. The adoption of new technologies will possibly increase in Peru, but, in the meantime, there is still chance for investing in workers’ skills, so they become less automatable and more productive.