COVID-19 and automation: Evidence from European countries

Martin Lábaj and Matej Vitáloš ()
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Matej Vitáloš: University of Economics in Bratislava

Economics Bulletin, 2024, vol. 44, issue 1, 112 - 121

Abstract: We add new empirical evidence on the link between COVID-19, job losses and automation. This is the first analysis using European data covering the period up to August 2022. We first show that during the second and third year of the pandemic, workers in automatable occupations were more likely to lose their job. However, this effect disappears after accounting for the fact that workers at high risk of automation were more likely to lose their job even before COVID-19. Our results differ from those of other empirical studies and indicate that the declared intentions of firms to automate production due to COVID-19 may not have materialized, as we find no acceleration in job losses of automatable workers.

Keywords: COVID-19; automation; job loss; unemployment; European Social Survey; Difference-in-Differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J2 O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-03-30
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