The joint impact of global value chains and technological exposure on job quality and wages in Europe

We use a micro-level dataset for workers from 22 European countries to assess whether technological exposure affects the relationship between global value chains (GVCs) and working conditions, quantified by several aspects of job quality and wages. We compare the effects across types of technological exposure, differentiating between software and robots versus artificial intelligence technology. In general, involvement in GVCs correlates negatively with wages and (slightly) positively with some non-monetary aspects of job quality. We show that exposure to digital technology does not alter this core relationship in an economically meaningful way.