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The transition to the knowledge economy, labor market institutions, and income inequality in advanced democracies

Author

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  • Hope, David
  • Martelli, Angelo
Abstract
The transition from Fordism to the knowledge economy in the world's advanced democracies was underpinned by the revolution in information and communications technology (ICT). The introduction and rapid diffusion of ICT pushed up wages for college-educated workers with complementary skills and allowed top managers and CEOs to reap greater rewards for their own talents. Despite these common pressures, income inequality did not rise to the same extent everywhere; income in the Anglo-Saxon countries remains particularly unequally distributed. To shed new light on this puzzle, the authors carry out a panel data analysis of eighteen OECD countries between 1970 and 2007. Their analysis stands apart from the existing empirical literature by taking a comparative perspective. The article examines the extent to which the relationship between the knowledge economy and income inequality is influenced by national labor market institutions. The authors find that the expansion of knowledge employment is positively associated with both the 90/10 wage ratio and the income share of the top 1 percent, but that these effects are mitigated by the presence of strong labor market institutions, such as coordinated wage bargaining, strict employment protection legislation, high union density, and high collective bargaining coverage. The authors provide robust evidence against the argument that industrial relations systems are no longer important safeguards of wage solidarity in the knowledge economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Hope, David & Martelli, Angelo, 2019. "The transition to the knowledge economy, labor market institutions, and income inequality in advanced democracies," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100382, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:100382
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gallego, Aina & Kurer, Thomas & Schöll, Nikolas, 2020. "Neither Left-Behind nor Superstar: Ordinary Winners of Digitalization at the Ballot," SocArXiv mu3tw, Center for Open Science.
    2. Thanos Fragkandreas, 2022. "Three Decades of Research on Innovation and Inequality: Causal Scenarios, Explanatory Factors, and Suggestions," Working Papers 60, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised Feb 2022.
    3. Bakker, Vincent & Van Vliet, Olaf, 2019. "Social Investment, Employment Outcomes and Policy and Institutional Complementarities: A Comparative Analysis across 26 OECD countries," MPRA Paper 96140, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Toon Van Overbeke, 2023. "Conflict or cooperation? Exploring the relationship between cooperative institutions and robotisation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 550-573, September.
    5. Adams, Samuel & Akobeng, Eric, 2021. "ICT, governance and inequality in Africa," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ICT; income inequality; industrial relations; information and communications technology; knowledge economy; labor market institutions; technological change; wage inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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