TY  - JOUR
AU  - Helpman,Elhanan
AU  - Rangel,Antonio
TI  - Adjusting to a New Technology: Experience and Training
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 6551
PY  - 1998
Y2  - May 1998
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6551
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w6551.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Elhanan Helpman
Department of Economics
Harvard University
1875 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617-495-4690
Fax: 617-495-7730
E-Mail: ehelpman@harvard.edu

Antonio Rangel
Department of Economics
California Institute of Technology
HSS MC 228-77
Pasadena, CA 91125
Tel: (626) 395-4091
E-Mail: rangel@hss.caltech.edu
AB  - In this paper we study how aggregate output responds to the arrival of a new General Purpose Technology (GPT) by looking at adjustment mechanisms that operate through labor markets. We show that under a wide set of circumstances the arrival of a new GPT that raises long-run output can trigger a recession in the short-run.  Furthermore, we characterize features of the GPT that produce a cyclical adjustment path.  An initial recession occurs whenever a higher education level is required to operate the new GPT.  But a recession can also occur when the new GPT has lower educational requirements.  A cyclical adjustment path is more likely when inexperienced workers are less productive with the new technology and the faster productivity rises with experience in the new sector.
ER  -