Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to explore the role of labour market institutions in promoting economic growth, notably by improving the compatibility between technology and human capital. The study draws upon elements from three traditions in social science: a cyclical model of economic growth developed within a Schumpeterian structural-economic framework is combined with a theory of skill-biased technological change from mainstream labour economics and a Northian approach to institutional change. The basic idea is that technological change generates divergent biases in demand for skills in different phases of a structural cycle. These divergent tendencies are the result of investments in some periods being directed mainly towards the renewal of products and processes, and in others towards increasing the efficiency of the established structure. Shifts in skill bias in turn create a pressure to transform labour market institutions.
The financial assistance of the Swedish Council for Work Life Research (grant no. 2000-0286) is gratefully acknowledged.
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Svensson, L. (2005). Technology Shifts, Industrial Dynamics and Labour Market Institutions in Sweden, 1920–95. In: Ljungberg, J., Smits, JP. (eds) Technology and Human Capital in Historical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523814_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230523814_4
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