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Office of Survey Methods Research
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Published Year: 2004
Survey/Program(s): Perspectives on Labour and Income, Vol. 6, No. 7, July
Catalog: Economic Working Paper
WP Number: WP-373
Publication Status / Disposition: See Perspectives on Labour and Income, Vol. 6, No. 7, July 2005, pp. 3-12.
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Which Workers Gain from Computer Use?
Abstract
Workers who use computers earn more than those who do not. Is this a productivity effect or merely selection? Using the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey, we control for selection and find a wage premium of 3.8% for the average worker upon adopting a computer. This premium, however, obscures important differences in returns to computer adoption across education and occupation groups. We find that long-run returns to computer use are over 5% for most workers. Differences between short-run and long-run returns may suggest that workers share training costs through sacrificed wages.