We use two UK panel data sets to investigate skill-upgrading in the United Kingdom and how it has been affected by computerization. Census data reveals that most aggregate skill-upgrading is explained by within-firm rises in skill composition. Such upgrading is significantly related to...

This paper examines whether the sector bias of skill-biased technical change (SBTC) explains changing skill premia within countries in recent decades. First, using a two-factor, two-sector, two-country model we demonstrate that in many cases it is the sector bias of SBTC that determines SBTC’s...

We analyse productivity growth in UK manufacturing 1980-92 using the newly available ARD panel of establishments drawn from the Census of Production. We examine the relative importance of 'internal' restructuring (such as new technology and organizational change) and 'external' restructuring...

In this paper, the authors study how firms react to demand shocks, examining how different aspects of flexibility shape their responses. Their main findings are that very few firms choose to adjust to price in response to a demand shock and that firms with more flexibility are more likely to...

We estimate mark-ups of price over marginal cost for UK manufacturing, based on the approach of Hall (1988). We also extend his method to allow for varying mark-ups over industries and the cycle. Using data on 16 two-digit industries, 1968-89, we find: (1) the average mark-up in UK manufacturing...

Why have skill shortages continue to persist despite increases in training and the skill levels of the workforce? We argue that technical progress has raised the demand for skilled labour to match the observed increase in supply. We provide econometric evidence in support of this hypothesis,...

We (a) propose an implementable innovation index, (b) relate it to existing innovation definitions and (c) show whole-economy and industry-specific results for the UK market sector, 2000-2005. Our innovation measure starts by observing that we could get more GDP without innovation by simply...

We construct firm-level data set with matched productivity and qualification data by linking the Annual Business Inquiry and Employer Skills Survey for England. We first examine the effect of workplace skills and other characteristics such as part-time status and gender on both productivity and...

Many papers have documented wide variations in productivity even in narrowly defined industries. Some have argued that this primarily reflects measurement problems due, for example, to comparing across different products. Others argue that this reflects persistent differences in performance due,...

The U.K. skill premium fell from the 1950s to the late 1970s and then rose very sharply. This paper examines the contributions to these relative wage movements of international trade and technical change. We first measure trade as changes in product prices and technical change as TFP growth....