During the last decade a great many authors have shown that computers have a large impact on skill demand, production processes, and the organization and intensity of work. Analyses have indicated that the rates of change of these variables have been the largest in the more computer-intensive...

AbstractThis paper models the impact of the diffusion of computers on the wage structure, startingfrom the observation that computer use increases individual productivity, but also the supplyof goods. This latter effect negatively affects workers producing similar goods. If theproductivity gain...

Despite indications that interpersonal interactions are important for understanding individual labor-market outcomes and have become more important over the last decades, there is little analysis by economists. This paper shows that interpersonal interactions are important determinants of...

This research develops a theory and presents empirical evidence of a link between economic outcomes and genetic evolution. Important properties for successful analysis of such a link are found in the adaptive immune system and particularly in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a...

This paper deals with the complementarity between skills and knowledge by investigating particularly tacit knowledge flows between countries and regions. The main findings are threefold. First, there seems to exist a trade-off between acquiring knowledge through performing and putting effort in...

The model developed in this paper explains differences in the division of labour across firms as a result of computer technology adoption. We find that changes in the division of labour can result both from reduced production time and from improved communication possibilities. The first shifts...

Using data from the 1997 Skills Survey of the Employed BritishWorkforce, we examine the returns to computer skills in Britain.Many researchers, using information on computer use, have concludedthat wage differentials between computer users and non-users might,among others, be due to differences...

This paper examines whether noncognitive skills - measured both by personality traits and economic preference parameters - influence cognitive tests performance. The basic idea is that noncognitive skills might affect the effort people put into a test to obtain good results. We experimentally...

We review the literature on national innovation systems. We first focus on the emergence of the concept of innovation systems, reviewing its historical origins and three main flavours (associated to three "founding fathers" of the concept). After this, we discuss how the notion of innovation...

Computer use is mainly associated with skilled, high-wage workers. Furthermore, the introduction of computers leads to upgrading of skill requirements. This suggests that the computer requires certain skills to take full advantage of its possibilities. Empirical findings, however, suggest that...