The rise of robots and the fall of routine jobs

Gaaitzen J. de Vries; Elisabetta Gentile; Sebastien Miroudot; Konstantin M. Wacker

doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101885

The rise of robots and the fall of routine jobs

Gaaitzen J. de Vries^*, Elisabetta Gentile, Sebastien Miroudot, Konstantin M. Wacker

^*Corresponding author for this work

Global Economics & Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

239 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of industrial robots on jobs. We combine data on robot adoption and occupations by industry in thirty-seven countries for the period from 2005 to 2015. We exploit differences across industries in technical feasibility – defined as the industry's share of tasks replaceable by robots – to identify the impact of robot usage on employment. The data allow us to differentiate effects by the routine-intensity of employment. We find that a rise in robot adoption relates significantly to a fall in the employment share of routine manual task-intensive jobs. This relation is observed in high-income countries, but not in emerging market and transition economies.

Original language	English
Article number	101885
Number of pages	18
Journal	Labour Economics
Volume	66
Early online date	11-Jul-2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101885
Publication status	Published - Oct-2020

Keywords

Robots
Tasks
Occupations
Eployment
TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE
INEQUALITY
EMPLOYMENT
FUTURE
TASKS

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10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101885Licence: CC BY

The rise of robots and the fall of routine jobsFinal publisher's version, 2.25 MBLicence: CC BY

Robots replace routine tasks performed by workers
Konstantin Wacker & Gaaitzen Vries, de
08/10/2020
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research › Academic
How does robotization affect different tasks on the labor market?
Konstantin Wacker & Gaaitzen Vries, de
22/07/2020
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other › Academic

Cite this

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title = "The rise of robots and the fall of routine jobs",

abstract = "This paper examines the impact of industrial robots on jobs. We combine data on robot adoption and occupations by industry in thirty-seven countries for the period from 2005 to 2015. We exploit differences across industries in technical feasibility – defined as the industry's share of tasks replaceable by robots – to identify the impact of robot usage on employment. The data allow us to differentiate effects by the routine-intensity of employment. We find that a rise in robot adoption relates significantly to a fall in the employment share of routine manual task-intensive jobs. This relation is observed in high-income countries, but not in emerging market and transition economies.",

keywords = "Robots, Tasks, Occupations, Eployment, TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE, INEQUALITY, EMPLOYMENT, FUTURE, TASKS",

author = "{de Vries}, {Gaaitzen J.} and Elisabetta Gentile and Sebastien Miroudot and Wacker, {Konstantin M.}",

year = "2020",

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doi = "10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101885",

language = "English",

volume = "66",

journal = "Labour Economics",

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AU - de Vries, Gaaitzen J.

AU - Gentile, Elisabetta

AU - Miroudot, Sebastien

AU - Wacker, Konstantin M.

PY - 2020/10

Y1 - 2020/10

N2 - This paper examines the impact of industrial robots on jobs. We combine data on robot adoption and occupations by industry in thirty-seven countries for the period from 2005 to 2015. We exploit differences across industries in technical feasibility – defined as the industry's share of tasks replaceable by robots – to identify the impact of robot usage on employment. The data allow us to differentiate effects by the routine-intensity of employment. We find that a rise in robot adoption relates significantly to a fall in the employment share of routine manual task-intensive jobs. This relation is observed in high-income countries, but not in emerging market and transition economies.

AB - This paper examines the impact of industrial robots on jobs. We combine data on robot adoption and occupations by industry in thirty-seven countries for the period from 2005 to 2015. We exploit differences across industries in technical feasibility – defined as the industry's share of tasks replaceable by robots – to identify the impact of robot usage on employment. The data allow us to differentiate effects by the routine-intensity of employment. We find that a rise in robot adoption relates significantly to a fall in the employment share of routine manual task-intensive jobs. This relation is observed in high-income countries, but not in emerging market and transition economies.

KW - Robots

KW - Tasks

KW - Occupations

KW - Eployment

KW - TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE

KW - INEQUALITY

KW - EMPLOYMENT

KW - FUTURE

KW - TASKS

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DO - 10.1016/j.labeco.2020.101885

M3 - Article

VL - 66

JO - Labour Economics

JF - Labour Economics

SN - 0927-5371

M1 - 101885

ER -

The rise of robots and the fall of routine jobs

Abstract

Keywords

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Press / Media

Robots replace routine tasks performed by workers

How does robotization affect different tasks on the labor market?

Cite this