Who gains from computer use

the introduction of digital cheque imaging in a bank, found that exceptions processors spent more time on problem solving and less on repetitive tasks while the staff of deposit processors with the same skill requirements was reduced (Autor, Levy, and Murnane 2002). In this case, computers substituted for some routine tasks and complemented problem-solving. These differences may be observable between occupational groups as computers change skill requirements. For example, word-processing programs may be deskilling for clerical workers because documents can be prepared more quickly and with fewer skills, but upskilling for managers because such programs allow them to take on a greater variety of tasks. Another reason for differential returns to technology across workers is that managers and professionals with high cognitive skills are especially important for the implementation of new technologies (Bresnahan, Brynjolfsson and Hitt 2002). They need to be able to transform organizations to take advantage of technology and new information so that they can learn about their customers. Similarly, since highly educated workers have a comparative advantage in adjusting to new technologies, the introduction of new technologies should shift demand away from less educated workers (Bartel and Lichtenberg 1987). This study uses a panel of workers surveyed in the 1999 and 2000 Workplace and Employee Survey (WES) to re-examine wage premiums for using a computer at work (see Data source). It identifies the return to adopting a computer, as distinct from the negative return from ceasing to use a computer, and examines the returns for specific subgroups of workers by education, occupation, and computer application. It also measures the longer-term returns to continued computer use and the effects of previous computer experience and training to determine whether the difference between the small returns for adopters and the much larger returns for continued users can be attributed to learning costs.