Changes in Workplaces and Careers

Abstract: Organizational Change and Productivity Growth ? Evidence from SwedenThis paper uses two different firm level surveys matched with employer-employee data to investigate both determinants and effects of different types of organizational change. The results support the competition hypothesis for inducing organizational change. Among the four measures of organizational change investigated in this paper, only delayering shows significant effects on subsequent productivity growth.Firms and Skills: The Evolution of Worker SortingWe document a significant increase in sorting by both cognitive and non-cognitive skill from 1986 to 2008 using data for 28 cohorts of Swedish men. The skill differences within firms have fallen in all major industries while differences in skill between firms have increased. Two main factors drive the increase in sorting. First, workers in high-skilled occupations, such as engineers, have moved to the IT and telecom industries. Second, assortative matching of workers by skill has become more positive.Trading Off or Having it All? Completed Fertility and Mid-career Earnings of Swedish Men and WomenEarnings in mid-career and children are two fundamental outcomes of the life-choices of men and women. This paper explores how these outcomes have changed for Swedish men and women born 1945?1962 by documenting changes in education, assortative mating patterns, completed fertility and mid-career earnings and also how the association between children and earnings has changed over time.Solving the Puzzle ? Hours Constraints, Technical Change and Female Labor SupplyThis paper extends the standard theory of labor supply to incorporate an important ingredient in the labor supply decision of today's women: the role of flexibility and time constraints. Using a life-cycle model, I formalize the notion that as technology allows jobs to become more flexible, time constrained individuals can supply more hours and may therefore find it attractive to opt for a more demanding career.