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The Employment Effects of the ‘New Economy’. A Comparison of the European Union and the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2020

Bart van Ark ,
Robert Inklaar ,
Robert H. McGuckin  and
Marcel P. Timmer
Bart van Ark
Affiliation:
University of Groningen and The Conference Board
Robert Inklaar
Affiliation:
University of Groningen and The Conference Board
Robert H. McGuckin
Affiliation:
University of Groningen and The Conference Board
Marcel P. Timmer*
Affiliation:
University of Groningen and The Conference Board
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the trends in labour productivity and employment growth at industry level in the European Union and the United States during the 1990s. We analyse relationships for groups of industries, i.e. industries that produce ICT products and services, those that invest strongly in ICT, and those that make less intensive use of ICT. The main findings are that the inverse relationship between employment and productivity growth has been much more prominent in manufacturing industries than in services industries. Secondly, during the 1990s, this relationship has turned positive in many industries, in particular in ICT-producing industries and in ICT-using industries in the service sector. Finally, the employment-reducing effects of productivity growth have remained considerably stronger in Europe than in the US.

Type
Articles
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 184 , April 2003 , pp. 86 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © 2003 National Institute of Economic and Social Research

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Footnotes

∗

This article is based on a study by Bart van Ark, Robert Inklaar and Robert H. McGuckin (2002a).

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