“技能偏向型”技术进步、就业结构升级与劳动力成本上涨

“Skill-oriented” Technological Progress,Employment Structure Upgrade and Labor Cost Rise

近年来,中国劳动力成本快速上涨,已成为企业发展的沉重负担,因而劳动力成本上涨的原因受到广泛关注。“刘易斯转折点”等理论解释了低技能劳动力工资上涨的原因,但是高技能劳动力工资上涨的原因尚待阐明。本文提出,低技能劳动力工资的上涨加快了企业使用资本和高技能劳动的组合替代低技能劳动,促进了“技能偏向型”技术进步,推动高技能劳动力工资上涨,促使劳动力成本以“双涨”形式加速上涨。1999—2007年中国工业企业数据统计表明,低技能劳动力和高技能劳动力成本均快速上涨,在行业和区域内部均出现劳动力成本上涨,简单劳动力逐渐被高质量资本和高工资劳动力替代。对行业截面和面板数据进行4分位回归发现:由资本更新和新产品测量的“技能偏向型”技术进步推动了就业结构升级;“技能偏向型”技术进步通过就业结构升级加快劳动力成本上涨,主要表现为平均工资支出和平均福利支出上涨。中国企业应充分认识和应对技能升级过程,政府可采用税收等政策工具加速这一进程。

Since 2000,the rapid rise of labor costs in China has become a heavy burden for the development of enterprises.Therefore,the reasons for the rise in labor costs have received extensive attention.Currently,theories such as the “Lewis Turning Point”explain why the wages of low-skilled labor have risen,but the reasons for the rise in wages of high-skilled labor have yet to be elucidated.The paper proposes that the rise in the wages of low-skilled labor accelerates companies to use a combination of capital and high-skilled labor to replace low-skilled labor,promotes “skill-oriented”technological progress,promotes the rise in wages of high-skilled labor,and promotes labor costs to“double increase”form accelerated.Statistics of Chinese industrial enterprises from 1999 to 2007 show that the cost of low-skilled labor and high-skilled labor has risen rapidly,labor costs have risen within industries and regions,and simple labor has gradually been replaced by high-quality capital and high-wage labor.A quartile regression on industry cross-section and panel data found that the “skill-oriented”technological progress of capital renewal and new product measurement promoted the upgrading of the employment structure.The main performance is the increase in average salary expenditure and welfare expenditure.Chinese companies should fully recognize and take advantage of skills upgrading,and the government can accelerate this process with policies such as taxation.