LEWANDOWSKI ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE WORLD BANK ECONOMIC REVIEW

“Technology, Skills, and Globalization: Explaining International Differences in Routine and Nonroutine Work Using Survey Data” analyses the extent to which the same jobs performed in different countries involve different tasks. Using survey data from 47 countries, Lewandowski and co-authors Albert Park, Wojciech Hardy, Yang Du and Saier Wu found evidence confirming substantial cross-country differences in the content of work within occupations. In particular, they find that work in poorer countries is more routine-intensive, especially in high-skilled occupations.

The authors also show that most of the international differences in the intensity of routine tasks can be attributed to differences in technology use (computers, ICT, robots), followed by the supply of skills – both of which are lower in less developed countries – and then by globalization.