Argentina: Employment and Inequality Trends

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to identify the scope and patterns of the structural transformation as evidenced by changes in occupations and their task content, and their impact on employment, earnings and income distribution in Argentina during the new millennium. Results show that the changes in jobs did not follow the same pattern as those in earnings. In particular, earnings grew but employment shares fell in low-paying occupations. The macroeconomic conditions, production structure, and labour market institutions seem to shape the impact of technology on job demand and on earnings distribution. Overall, the findings point at the need for a broader perspective with a view to achieving a better understanding of the extent to which these factors may have affected the adoption of technology and the composition of employment in a country characterized by high economic instability and dramatic changes in their productive structure.