Estatísticas

The impact of computer use on wage inequality in a developing country: Evidence from Ecuador

Author:
Hessel Oosterbeek and Juan Ponce
Published by:
mrobalino
Related countries:
Published and/or Presented at:
Oosterbeek, Hessel y Ponce, Juan (2009). "The impact of computer use on wage inequality in a developing country: Evidence from Ecuador". Documento de Trabajo 06/303, FLACSO Ecuador.
Summary:
For developed countries it has been well-documented that people that use a computer at work earn higher wages than people who don´t. Whether this effect is causal remains an unresolved issue. This paper examines whether the same association holds in a developing country. To that end we analyze longitudinal data from urban Ecuador. OLS estimates show that workers who use a computer earn up to 67% higher wages than people that don´t. First difference estimates suggest that this impact is to a large extent causal. People who started using a computer experience an average wage increase of around 10%, while we find no wage increase for people who started to use desk materials.