Technology and Changes in Skill Structure: Evidence from Seven OECD Countries

Much of the dramatic change in skill and wage structure observed in recent years in the United States is believed to stem from the impact of new technology. This paper compares the changing skill strcuture of wage bills and employment in the United States with six other advanced developed countries - the UK (where wage and income inequality rose even faster in the 1980s than in the US), two Continental European Countries (France and Germany), two Scandinavian Countries (Denmark and Sweden) and Japan.