American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Labor Supply and Directed Technical Change: Evidence from the Termination of the Bracero Program in 1964
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 15,
no. 1, January 2023
(pp. 136–63)
Abstract
This paper studies the impact of labor supply on the creation of new technology, exploiting a large exogenous shock to the US agricultural labor supply caused by the termination of the Bracero agreements between the US and Mexico at the end of 1964. Using a text-search algorithm allocating patents to crops, I show a negative labor-supply shock induced a sharp increase in innovation in technologies related to more affected crops. The effect is stronger for technology related to labor-intensive production tasks. Farm-value dynamics indicate that, despite the positive technology reaction, the policy change was undesirable for farm owners.Citation
San, Shmuel. 2023. "Labor Supply and Directed Technical Change: Evidence from the Termination of the Bracero Program in 1964." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 15 (1): 136–63. DOI: 10.1257/app.20200664Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J43 Agricultural Labor Markets
- N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
- O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
- O34 Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
- Q12 Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
- Q16 Agricultural R&D; Agricultural Technology; Biofuels; Agricultural Extension Services
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