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Computer use and wage returns: The complementary roles of IT-related human capital and nonroutine tasks

Published: 18 March 2011 Publication History

Abstract

The effect of computer use on individual workers is relatively underresearched in the IS literature. Prior studies on computer use usually treat technologies as a “black box” and rarely look into how computers are used in workplaces and why IT-related skills are important there. In this study, we use the data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the data on job requirements for over 12,000 occupations from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), to examine the complementary roles of skill sets and nonroutine tasks in providing computer-use wage returns for individual workers. We find that computer use is associated with increased levels of interactive and numerical skills required for the general workforce. In addition, workers who use computers at work and possess higher levels of interactive skills receive higher wages. We also find that computer use complements performing nonroutine tasks, particularly nonroutine abstract tasks in contributing to the wage premium. As the tasks become increasingly routine, the impact of computer use on wage returns diminishes.

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  • (2018)Research Note---A Dynamic View of the Impact of Network Structure on Technology AdoptionInformation Systems Research10.1287/isre.2013.049424:4(1087-1099)Online publication date: 26-Dec-2018
  • (2011)Technological embeddedness and household computer adoptionInformation Technology & People10.1108/0959384111118226924:4(414-436)Online publication date: 15-Nov-2011

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  1. Computer use and wage returns: The complementary roles of IT-related human capital and nonroutine tasks

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    cover image ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems
    ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems  Volume 2, Issue 1
    March 2011
    114 pages
    ISSN:2158-656X
    EISSN:2158-6578
    DOI:10.1145/1929916
    Issue’s Table of Contents
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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    Publication History

    Published: 18 March 2011
    Accepted: 01 October 2010
    Revised: 01 September 2010
    Received: 01 November 2009
    Published in TMIS Volume 2, Issue 1

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    Author Tags

    1. Computer use
    2. human capital
    3. nonroutine tasks
    4. wage returns

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    • (2018)Research Note---A Dynamic View of the Impact of Network Structure on Technology AdoptionInformation Systems Research10.1287/isre.2013.049424:4(1087-1099)Online publication date: 26-Dec-2018
    • (2011)Technological embeddedness and household computer adoptionInformation Technology & People10.1108/0959384111118226924:4(414-436)Online publication date: 15-Nov-2011

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