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Cited by 141Labor market dynamics and wage inequalityAgglomeration and Urban SystemsRegional Economic Trends and Sectoral Structure

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Do low-skilled workers gain from high-tech employment growth? High-technology multipliers, employment and wages in Britain

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Lee, Neil, Clarke, Stephen·2019·Research Policy
DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2019.05.012
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Abstract

Do low-skilled workers benefit from the growth of high-technology industries in their local economy? Policymakers invest considerable resources in attracting and developing innovative, high-tech industries, but there is relatively little evidence on the distribution of the benefits. This paper investigates the labour market impact of high-tech growth on low and mid-skilled workers, using data on UK local labour markets from 2009–2015. It shows that high-tech industries – either STEM-intensive ‘high-tech’ or digital economy – have a positive jobs multiplier, with each 10 new high-tech jobs creating around 7 local non-tradeable service jobs, around 6 of which go to low-skilled workers. Employment rates for mid-skilled workers do not increase, but they benefit from higher wages. Yet while low-skilled workers gain from higher employment rates, the jobs are often poorly paid service work, so average wages fall, particularly when increased housing costs are considered.

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  • Toward an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Research Program

    Wurth, B., Stam, E., & Spigel, B. (2022) · Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice · doi:10.1177/1042258721998948 · Cited by 789

    “But the empirical reality is less clear, with some research finding little to no connection between, for example, high-growth entrepreneurship and overall regional prosperity (Lee & Rodríguez-Pose, 2021 ; Lee & Clarke, 2019).”

Metadata

Authors
Lee, N., & Clarke, S.
Affiliations
London School of Economics and Political Science (GB)
Corresponding author
Lee, Neil
ORCID
Lee, Neil
Venue
Research Policy
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-11
Volume
48
Issue
9
Pages
103803
ISSN
0048-7333 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.respol.2019.05.012
OpenAlex
W2948977440
Cited by
141
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 28 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 2
FWCI
13.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Research Policy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
  • London School of Economics and Political Science Theses Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
Economic and Social Research Council
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Agglomeration and Urban Systems
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Regional Economic Trends and Sectoral Structure
Keywords
high-tech industry, low-skilled workers, digital economy, local labor markets, wages, employment rate, housing costs, service sector employment, regional economic development, United Kingdom

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