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Abstract
What types of jobs are becoming more important in our economies, and what causes these changes? This timely book by Daniel Oesch attempts to tackle these questions for five European countries (Britain, Denmark, Germany, Spain, and Switzerland), over 1990 to 2008. For each country, Oesch analyzes changes in the structure of employment. One of the focal points of the book is then to examine whether occupational changes are best described by the SBTC (upgrading) “or” routinization hypothesis (polarization). We believe this juxtaposition is misguided, however, as routinization does not preclude upgrading, nor, for that matter, SBTC. Overall, the book is an interesting read, providing a general overview of the main drivers of occupational change. In this, the book fulfills its promise of helping policymakers and the public at large to frame and organize their thoughts about this important topic. We agree with the author’s major finding that governments should take action that lead to occupational upgrading at both ends of the labor market to reap the benefits of ongoing technological change.
Citation
Goos, M. and A. Salomons. 2014.“A Review of “Occupational Change in Europe: How Technology and Education Transform the Job Structure”, with Anna Salomons, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Vol. 67, No. 3, July 2014, p. 1050-1052.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793914537464