Description of work
Derive and estimate a multi-equation input demand system with different types of labour skills and capital as quasifixed factors. Factor demand will be estimated for each country, and factor substitution elasticities, measuring the price sensitivity of different labour types and capital inputs from the EU KLEMS Productivity Database, are derived to study the impact of output and productivity growth on employment. Also look at substitution between different age and gender groups within a given skill group.

Explore various models of skill biased technological change (SBTC) using the skill data from the EU KLEMS database, with a view to establishing whether there is an EU model of SBTC in contrast to the US. These models include wage and employment share equations, studies including impact of labour and product market regulations on skill formation, and more sophisticated models to analyze the patterns of skills within a more holistic framework.

Quantify the effects of international outsourcing on employment of skilled and unskilled labour, through characterizing production technologies at industry level by distinguishing between high-tech and low-tech components, and quantify the employment effects for skilled and unskilled labour of changes in the trade and production structure.

Sources are EU KLEMS Productivity Database for measures of intermediate inputs and capital, OECD Trade Statistics for trade measures.

Primary Contact
Martin Falk, Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (WIFO)
E-mail: Martin.Falk@wifo.ac.at

Workpackage Material