Pathways to Adjustment: The Case of Information Technology Workers
研究了计算机科学家和电气工程师(IT工人)在两次需求增长期(1970年代和1990年代)的工资和就业变化,发现1990年代的需求冲击导致就业增长更大而工资变化更小,这与海外高技能人才池扩大和移民增加有关。
One long-standing hypothesis about science and engineering labor markets is that the supply of highly skilled workers is likely to be inelastic in the short run. We consider the market for computer scientists and electrical engineers (IT workers) and the evolution of wages and employment through two periods of increased demand. Relative to the boom of the 1970s, the demand shock in the 1990s generated relatively greater changes in employment and smaller changes in wages. The growth in the pool of skilled workers abroad, combined with increased immigration in high-skill fields, is central to this story.