Digital adoption and human capital upscaling: a regional study of the manufacturing sector
研究了意大利皮埃蒙特大区制造业企业数字化投资对劳动力需求的影响，发现数字化投资增加了对高学历（尤其是STEM领域）工人的需求，同时减少了对低学历工人的需求。
Abstract We study the effect of the diffusion of digitalization, measured as the level of expenditures in digital technologies, on labor demand within the manufacturing sector. We exploit unique information from a focus study of the quarterly survey of Unioncamere Piemonte (one of Italy’s most industrialized and technologically advanced regions) to measure the extent to which planned digital technologies investments impact hiring propensity, differentiated by educational level. Based on a representative sample of non-micro firms, our findings suggest a positive relationship between digital investments and the probability of hiring highly educated workers, mainly driven by the demand for individuals with a post-secondary technical institute (ITS) diploma and post-MSc qualifications or a PhD in STEM fields. Conversely, we also find that digital investments negatively influence the probability of hiring low-educated individuals, primarily referring to the demand for workers with secondary education. Our results reveal firms’ human capital upscaling dynamics powered by digitalization processes.