Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14593
Authors: Alessandra Bonfiglioli; Rosario Crin; Harald Fadinger; Gino Gancia
Abstract: We use French data over the 1994-2013 period to study how imports of industrial robots affect firm-level outcomes. Guided by a simple model, we develop a novel empirical strategy to identify the causal effects of robot adoption. Our results suggest that, while demand shocks generate a positive correlation between robot imports and employment at the firm level, exogenous exposure to automation leads to job losses. We also find that robot exposure increases labour productivity and some evidence that it may raise the relative demand for high-skill professions.
Keywords: automation; displacement; firms; robots
JEL Codes: J23; J24; O33; D22
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increased robot imports (L63) | decrease in employment (J63) |
| robot exposure (C45) | increase in labor productivity (O49) |
| automation (L23) | raise relative demand for high-skill professions (J24) |
| exogenous exposure to automation (L23) | job losses (J63) |