Computer literacy is one of the most important skills
for workers in advanced economies, a report for the government has
found.
The report says people who use IT at work earn more than those
who do not, with the percentage increase dependent on other factors
such as ability.
The research, done by the Centre
for the Economics of Education for the Department of
Innovation, Universities and Skills, says, "Computer literacy
represents one of the most important basic skills necessary for an
individual to function in an advanced industrial economy."
The authors found the rate of return on computer use is between
3% and 10%, with the actual percentage dependent on "unobserved
differences and individual unobserved ability".
The government has emphasised the
importance of IT skills in the UK before, with many agreeing
they are
crucial for the country's economy.
The use of word-processing, e-mail and programming give a
"significant" wage return, and the higher number of tasks a worker
uses a computer for, the higher their wages are likely to be,
according to the authors.
They also found that computer use is directly linked to
education, with users having on average 2.5 years more schooling
than non-users.
Previous studies have over-estimated the return of IT to wages,
they said, because they have not taken background factors into
account. If aspects such as ability are not controlled for,
earnings for those using IT are 48% higher than for those who are
not.