Technical change and the wage structure during the second industrial revolution
Subtitle: evidence from the merchant marine, 1865-1912
By: by Aimee Chin, Chinhui Juhn, Peter Thompson.
Contributors: Juhn, Chinhui, 1961-.; Thompson, Peter.
Series: Discussion paper ;; no. 1285; Discussion paper (Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit : Online) ;; no. 1285
Publisher: IZA
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Bonn, Germany
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Merchant marine; Merchant mariners -- Salaries, etc.; Steamboats.
Description: "Using a large, individual-level wage data set, we examine the impact of a major technological innovation -- the steam engine -- on skill demand and the wage structure in the merchant shipping industry. We find that the technical change created a new demand for skilled workers, the engineers, while destroying demand for workers with skills relevant only to sail. It had a deskilling effect on production work -- able-bodied seamen (essentially, artisans) were replaced by unskilled engine room operatives. On the other hand, mates and able-bodied seamen employed on steam earned a premium relative to their counterparts on sail. A wholesale switch from sail to steam would increase the 90/10 wage ratio by 40%, with most of the rise in inequality coming from the creation of the engineer occupation"--Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit web site.
Notes: Also available in print.
Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 5/4/2005.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Mode of access: World Wide Web.