Diffusion der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien und die Qualifikationsstruktur der Arbeitskräfte (Diffusion of information and communication technology and the qualification structure of the workforce)

"The paper examines the relationship between the diffusion of information and communication technology (ICT) and the skill structure of the employees. The data basis comes from a survey conducted among 4150 German firms in the year 2000. The penetration of ICT is measured with the aid of: (i) the proportion of the workers who spend at least half of their time at the workplace using a computer, (ii) the number of computers per worker, (iii) the proportion of the workers with Internet access and (iv) the use of software applications such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), CAD/CAE and data management systems. Empirical results based on Tobit models show that firms with a greater penetration of ICT employ both a greater proportion of employees with a university degree or equivalent and also a greater proportion of IT specialists. In contrast, a greater penetration of ICT is significantly negatively correlated with the proportion of medium-skilled and low-skilled workers." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))