German Workforce Adaption to Digitalization

Research output: Book/ReportBookAcademic

Abstract

This dissertation thesis consists of four essays in empirical labor economics that examine the German workforce’s adaption to digitalization from different angles. In this thesis, digitalization refers to technology that connects machines, products, and humans and conducts complex activities such as problem-solving without human intervention. The first essay sheds light on the diffusion process of the latest technologies within German firms. It examines the extent to which workers can give impulses and shape, via the representation through works councils, the implementation process of digitalization. The second essay explores workers’ employment adjustment to the first-time introduction of digital technologies in establishments. The third essay studies individuals’ wage and employment response to new technologies by focusing on differences between investments into 3.0-technology, e.g., industrial robots, and 4.0-technology, e.g., artificial intelligence. Finally, the fourth essay puts the spotlight on changes in the occupational composition of the workforce in Germany and investigates the role of digitalization for occupational specialization within workplaces. Overall, the present thesis aims to generate novel scientific data on the implementation of digital technologies, provide new empirical evidence on the labor market response of the German workforce, and thereby contribute to the objectification of debate about the future of work.
Original languageEnglish
PublisherFriedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)
Number of pages103
Publication statusPublished - 30 Sept 2021

Bibliographical note

Doctoral Thesis

Keywords

  • digitalization
  • employment
  • occupations
  • wages
  • works councils

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