The DOI matches its Crossref record; 28 of the 31 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Skill Content of Recent Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration
Abstract
We apply an understanding of what computers do to study how computerization alters job skill demands. We argue that computer capital (1) substitutes for workers in performing cognitive and manual tasks that can be accomplished by following explicit rules; and (2) complements workers in performing nonroutine problem-solving and complex communications tasks. Provided that these tasks are imperfect substitutes, our model implies measurable changes in the composition of job tasks, which we explore using representative data on task input for 1960 to 1998. We find that within industries, occupations, and education groups, computerization is associated with reduced labor input of routine manual and routine cognitive tasks and increased labor input of nonroutine cognitive tasks. Translating task shifts into education demand, the model can explain 60 percent of the estimated relative demand shift favoring college labor during 1970 to 1998. Task changes within nominally identical occupations account for almost half of this impact.
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In the citing paper
“Consequently, computerization has had a disproportionate impact on jobs that involve routine tasks, such as data entry, bookkeeping, and assembly line work, and reducing demand for workers performing”
From Generative AI at Work (2023) · cites this paper as Autor et al., 2003
In the citing paper
“The A canonical theory in this discourse is SBTC (Acemoglu 2002, Autor et al. 2003), which posits that technological progress complements skilled workers by boosting their relative productivity and substitutes unskilled workers by automating their tasks.”
From Skill-Biased Technical Change, Again? Online Gig Platforms and Local Employment (2025) · cites this paper as Autor et al. 2003
In the citing paper
“Online gig platforms might enhance operational efficiency by rendering incumbent middle-skilled workers obsolete when their tasks are replaceable by technology (Autor et al. 2003), such as scheduling and supervising services.”
From Skill-Biased Technical Change, Again? Online Gig Platforms and Local Employment (2025) · cites this paper as Autor et al. 2003
In the citing paper
“Modern work on labor-saving technology builds on the task-based framework popularized by Autor et al. (2003), who argue that computers substituted workers in routine cognitive and manual roles but complemented non-routine and complex tasks, leading to structural changes to the composition of jobs in the US economy.”
From Labor Market Consequences of Generative AI: Early Evidence from Norway (2026) · cites this paper as Autor et al., 2003
In the citing paper
“This predominant impact on non-routine cognitive tasks deviates from the 'routinization hypothesis' (Autor et al., 2003), which posited that ICT primarily automates routine, codifiable tasks performed by middle-wage workers.”
From Large language models at work in China’s labor market (2025) · cites this paper as Autor et al., 2003
In the citing paper
“Drawing on prior empirical findings, we have discerned a predominant impact of automation on occupations involving non-routine cognitive tasks. This observation marks a departure from earlier conclusions, such as those posited by Autor et al. (2003), which suggested that automation primarily affects occupations characterized by routine tasks.”
From Large language models at work in China’s labor market (2025) · cites this paper as Autor et al. (2003)
In the citing paper
“Building on Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003), our conceptual framework observes that the first-order impact of computerization is to displace (substitute for) a set of 'middle skilled' routine cognitive and manual tasks, such as bookkeeping, clerical work and repetitive production tasks.”
From The polarization of the U.S. labor market (2006) · cites this paper as Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003)
In the citing paper
“The unique power of the digital computer, relative to all technologies that preceded it, was its ability to cheaply, reliably and rapidly execute cognitive and manual tasks encoded in explicit, deterministic rules”
From Applying AI to Rebuild Middle Class Jobs (2024) · cites this paper as Autor et al., 2003
In the citing paper
“In much of the literature in the social sciences, notably in labour economics, management and the sociology of work, these terms are taken for granted.”
From Artificial intelligence and work: a critical review of recent research from the social sciences (2024) · cites this paper as Autor et al. 2003
In the citing paper
“The idea that routine tasks are easier to automate is the main premise ofAutor, Levy, and Murnane (2003) and is in line with several studies that document a decline in routine jobs following automation, including Ace-”
From Tasks, automation, and the rise in U.S. wage inequality (2022) · cites this paper as Autor, Levy, and Murnane (2003)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?
Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.019 · Cited by 8,727
Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets
Acemoglu, D., & Restrepo, P. (2020) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/705716 · Cited by 4,088
The growth of low-skill service jobs and the polarization of the US labor market
Autor, D. H., & Dorn, D. (2013) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.103.5.1553 · Cited by 3,824
Self-citationWhy Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation
Autor, D. H. (2015) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.29.3.3 · Cited by 3,917
Self-citationSkills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings
Acemoglu, D., & Autor, D. (2011) · Handbook of Labor Economics · doi:10.1016/s0169-7218(11)02410-5 · Cited by 3,799
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Autor, D. H., Levy, F., & Murnane, R. J.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Venue
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2003-11-01
- Volume
- 118
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1279-1333
- ISSN
- 0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-4650
- OpenAlex
- W2892380133
- Cited by
- 6,205
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 806 · 2025: 619 · 2024: 562 · 2023: 544 · 2022: 482 · 2021: 472 · 2020: 426 · 2019: 388 · 2018: 350 · 2017: 236 · 2016: 249 · 2015: 184 · 2014: 166 · 2013: 135 · 2012: 111
- FWCI
- 55.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Global trade and economics
- Keywords
- computerization, technological change, task composition, task substitution, task complementarity, educational demand, skill-biased technological change
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