The increasing demand for skilled workers in Australia: the role of technical change

Examines how technological change has affected the demand for skilled workers. Over the past twenty years, there has been a shift toward employment of skilled workers in Australia, as well as in many other industrialised economies. While it has sometimes been argued that the trend toward skilled workers is due to increased trade with low wage countries, the paper shows other factors are at work. Changing employment patterns are more closely associated with a pull toward skilled workers, rather than a push away from lower skilled workers. The paper emphasises the role technology has played in shaping this demand.