Returns to ICT Skills

Simon Wiederhold (), Oliver Falck and Alexandra Heimisch-Röcker

VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy from Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association

Abstract: How important is mastering information and communications technology (ICT) in modern labor markets? Previous research offers no guidance in assessing the labor-market returns to ICT skills, primarily because skill data have been unavailable. We draw on unique data that provide internationally comparable information on ICT skills in 19 countries. Using an instrument that leverages cross-country variation in the technologically determined probability of having Internet access, we find that ICT skills are substantially rewarded in the labor market. Placebo estimations show that exogenous Internet availability cannot explain numeracy or literacy skills, suggesting that our identifying variation is independent of a person s general ability.

JEL-codes: J31 K23 L96 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ict
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/112803/1/VfS_2015_pid_563.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Returns to ICT skills (2021)
Working Paper: Returns to ICT Skills (2016)
Working Paper: Returns to ICT skills (2016)
Working Paper: Returns to ICT Skills (2016)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:vfsc15:112803

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy from Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics ().