Job tasks and the comparative structure of income and employment: routine task intensity and offshorability for the LIS

"Comparative sociologists have long considered occupations to be a key source of inequality. However, data constraints make comparative research on two of the more important contemporary drivers of occupational stratification—globalization and technological change—relatively scarce. This articl...

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Main Authors: Mahutga, Matthew C., Curran, Michaela, Roberts, Anthony
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Luxembourg 2018
LIS
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19303203124911214859-Job-tasks-and-the-comparative-.htm
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author Mahutga, Matthew C.
Curran, Michaela
Roberts, Anthony
author_facet Mahutga, Matthew C.
Curran, Michaela
Roberts, Anthony
collection Library items
description "Comparative sociologists have long considered occupations to be a key source of inequality. However, data constraints make comparative research on two of the more important contemporary drivers of occupational stratification—globalization and technological change—relatively scarce. This article introduces a new dataset on occupational “routine task intensity” (RTI) and “offshorability” (OFFS) for use with the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database. To produce these data, we recoded 23 country-specific occupational schemes (74 LIS countryyears) to the two-digit ISCO-88 scheme. When combined with the handful of LIS countries already reporting their occupations in ISCO-88, we produce individual level RTI and OFFS scores for 38 LIS countries and 160 LIS country-years. To assess the validity of these recodes, we compare average labor-income ratios predicted by recoded ISCO-88 occupational categories to those predicted by reported ISCO-88 occupational categories within countries that transitioned from country-specific to ISCO-88 codes over time. To assess the utility of these RTI and OFFS scores and advance the literature on income polarization, we analyze their association with work hours and labor incomes in the global North and South. Both covariates correlate with work hours in ways that are consistent with previous research and additional theoretical considerations. Moreover, we show that both RTI and OFFS contribute to income polarization directly in the North, but not in the South. This article generates a public good data infrastructure that will be of use to a wide variety of social scientists, and brings new evidence to bear on the question of income polarization in rich democracies."
format TEXT
id 19303203124911214859_ebb4eadf8ad44a1381608fffea52c8ba
institution ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
is_hierarchy_id 19303203124911214859_ebb4eadf8ad44a1381608fffea52c8ba
is_hierarchy_title Job tasks and the comparative structure of income and employment: routine task intensity and offshorability for the LIS
language English
physical 15 p.
Digital
publishDate 2018
publisher Luxembourg
LIS
spellingShingle Mahutga, Matthew C.
Curran, Michaela
Roberts, Anthony
occupation
technological change
globalization
income distribution
sociological aspect
Job tasks and the comparative structure of income and employment: routine task intensity and offshorability for the LIS
thumbnail https://www.labourline.org/Image_prev.jpg?Archive=135703595398
title Job tasks and the comparative structure of income and employment: routine task intensity and offshorability for the LIS
topic occupation
technological change
globalization
income distribution
sociological aspect
url https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19303203124911214859-Job-tasks-and-the-comparative-.htm