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IZA Discussion Paper No. 15762
November 2022
Creative Disruption: Technology Innovation, Labour Demand and the Pandemic

published in: Economica, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1111/ecca.70025

We utilize a new survey on Norwegian firms' digitalization and technology investments, linked to population-wide register data, to show that the pandemic massively disrupted the technology investment plans of firms, not only postponing investments, but also introducing new technologies. More productive firms innovated, while less productive firms postponed investments. Most innovations were permanent, not due to acceleration of existing plans, thus the pandemic yields longterm influence in directions unanticipated before the pandemic. The new technologies are associated with increased labour demand for skilled workers, and reduced demand for unskilled workers, particularly for the more productive firms.

Communications
Mark Fallak
mark.fallak@liser.lu
+352 585-855-526
World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
Network Coordination
Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

The IZA@LISER Network is a global community of scholars dedicated to excellence in labor economics and related fields, now coordinated at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) following its transition from Bonn.

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