The 'Task Approach' to Labour Markets: An Overview
Autor
2013NBER Working Paper Series52 citations
Theoretical / conceptualTheoretical model
AI (General)Automation / RobotsRoutine task changeAugmentation vs. substitutionGeneral automation
AbstractAn emerging literature argues that changes in the allocation of workplace "tasks" between capital and labor, and between domestic and foreign workers, has altered the structure of labor demand in industrialized countries and fostered employment polarization-that is, rising employment in the highest and lowest paid occupations.Analyzing this phenomenon within the canonical production function framework is challenging, however, because the assignment of tasks to labor and capital in the canonical model is essentially static.This essay sketches an alternative model of the assignment of skills to tasks based upon comparative advantage, reviews key conceptual and practical challenges that researchers face in bringing the "task approach" to the data, and cautions against two common pitfalls that pervade the growing task literature.I conclude with a cautiously optimistic forecast for the potential of the task approach to illuminate the interactions among skill supplies, technological capabilities, and trade and offshoring opportunities, in shaping the aggregate demand for skills, the assignment of skills to tasks, and the evolution of wages.
SummaryAutor develops a theoretical model of task assignment based on comparative advantage to analyze how technological change and trade reshape the allocation of skills to tasks, employment polarization, and wage structure in labor markets.
Main FindingThe task approach provides a tractable framework showing how technological change can cause task-replacing displacement of middle-skill workers, leading to employment polarization and potentially falling wages for displaced groups even as output rises.
Primary Datasets
None (theoretical paper)
- Key Methods
- Theoretical production function model with endogenous task assignment based on comparative advantage
- Sample Period
- Not applicable
- Geographic Coverage
- Not applicable (theoretical)
- Sample Size
- Not applicable (theoretical)
- Level of Analysis
- Task, Occupation, Individual
- Occupation Classification
- Discusses DOT and O*NET classification systems
- Industry Classification
- None
NotesJournal for Labour Market Research, vol. 46, pp. 185-199
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.
[Claude classification]: This is a conceptual/theoretical overview paper that develops a formal task-based production function framework (building on Acemoglu & Autor 2011). It does not present original empirical analysis but rather reviews the task approach literature and discusses methodological challenges. The paper discusses automation and computer technology as the primary technological forces, though it also mentions robots and industrial automation examples.