Technological change and the extent of structural unemployment in manufacturing industry, 1991-2000

• Main Author: Briones, Julius Caballa
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2002
• Subjects: Technological innovations; Research; Industrial; Structural unemployment; Manufactures; Economics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/2928
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study determines the degree of technological change and measures the extent of structural unemployment resulting from the displacement of workers. Times series data gathered from various government statistical offices were used and presented using descriptive and graphical method. Regression, correlation and growth analyses were implemented to measure the degree of relationships of variables. Because of the varying characteristics of data, the analyses were dichotomized in small and large establishments. The measures of the degree of technological change were highlighted by the indices that closely approximate the measure of technological change. As a whole, the manufacturing industry experienced technological change as evidenced by the increasing investments in new/advance technology, capital intensity and labor productivity per employed person. Moreover, technological change caused the transformation of work process as evidenced by increasing number of displaced workers, changing industrial occupation, and the qualitative shift in demand for skilled workers. A model of employment was developed to measure the effects of technological change. A four-case analysis was implemented using the model. The model showed that among the explanatory variables, capital intensity was found to have a significant negative effect on employment while compensation has significant positive effect. On the other hand, investments in new/advance technology were found to be insignificant at 5.0 percent. Moreover, dummy variable size showed that large establishments contributed to the increase in employment. Finally, this study concluded that, to some extent, technological change by means of accumulation of stock technology, otherwise known as capital intensity, caused structural unemployment in the manufacturing industry.