Abstract
This paper analyzes whether technological change improves equality of labor
market opportunities by decreasing returns to parental background. We find that
in Germany during the 1990s, computerization improved the access to technologyadopting occupations for workers with low-educated parents, and reduced their
wage penalty within these occupations. We also show that this significantly contributed to a decline in the overall wage penalty experienced by workers from disadvantaged parental backgrounds over this time period. Competing mechanisms,
such as skill-specific labor supply shocks and skill-upgrading, do not explain these
findings
market opportunities by decreasing returns to parental background. We find that
in Germany during the 1990s, computerization improved the access to technologyadopting occupations for workers with low-educated parents, and reduced their
wage penalty within these occupations. We also show that this significantly contributed to a decline in the overall wage penalty experienced by workers from disadvantaged parental backgrounds over this time period. Competing mechanisms,
such as skill-specific labor supply shocks and skill-upgrading, do not explain these
findings
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 75 |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Publication series
| Name | ZEW Discussion Paper |
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Keywords
- Skill-biased technical change
- wage inequality
- equality of opportunity
- intergenerational persistence
- parental background
- class ceiling