Taming the Digital Beast: The Influence of Institutions on Labor Market Outcomes in the Context of Digitalization

Abstract

This thesis studies the effect of Institutions on Labor Market Outcomes as Digitalization advances. The question of how different Institutions affect outcomes when ICT investment is undertaken is answered via sample split regressions in 18 European countries from 1995 to 2019. The thesis finds differing effects of ICT on outcomes between institutional groups, informing on how to capture the positive effects of Digitalization. Whereas countries with high levels of labor market institutions tend to capture lower but unilaterally positive effects of ICT on labor market outcomes, there is a tradeoff between monetary gains and employment in countries with lower levels of labor market institutions.