Should we fear the robot revolution? (The correct answer is yes)

Andrew Berg (), Edward F. Buffie and Luis-Felipe Zanna

Journal of Monetary Economics, 2018, vol. 97, issue C, 117-148

Abstract: Advances in artificial intelligence and robotics may be leading to a new industrial revolution. This paper presents a model with the minimum necessary features to analyze the implications for inequality and output. Two assumptions are key: “robot” capital is distinct from traditional capital in its degree of substitutability with human labor; and only capitalists and skilled workers save. We analyze a range of variants that reflect widely different views of how automation may transform the labor market. Our main results are surprisingly robust: automation is good for growth and bad for equality; in the benchmark model real wages fall in the short run and eventually rise, but “eventually” can easily take generations.

Keywords: Technological change; Robots; Artificial intelligence; Growth; Income distribution; Inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E23 E25 O30 O40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (135)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:moneco:v:97:y:2018:i:c:p:117-148

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2018.05.014

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