COMPUTERS, WAGES AND WORKING HOURS IN ITALY

In this paper, the relationships between wages, working hours and the use of computers in the workplace are analysed for the Italian labour market. After addressing several econometric issues (mostly overlooked by previous literature) on the appropriate procedure for evaluating computer effects, we found that only for higher-level white collars the wage premium associated with computer usage is substantial; for lower qualifications, the effect vanishes. The use of computers at work increases the number of hours worked, although this effect is small. Moreover, since hourly wages have a negative impact on hours worked, computers seem to exert little, if any, impact on working time.