Production automation and skill premium: a perspective of deepening the division of labor in enterprises

Huiping Li () and Jun Wang
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Huiping Li: Guangzhou College of Commerce
Jun Wang: Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Palgrave Communications, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract This article describes the deepening of enterprise division of labor from three dimensions: vertical specialization level (VSI), global value chain (GVC) level and global value chain (GVC) position, and integrates production automation and deepening of enterprise division of labor within a framework to explore the impact of production automation on enterprise skill premium and the mechanism by which production automation affects skill premium by promoting deepening of enterprise division of labor. This article uses the matching data of the International Robotics Federation IFR data, Chinese industrial enterprise data, and Chinese customs data from 2001 to 2014 to conduct an empirical test. The result shows that the improvement of production automation level has expanded the skill premium of enterprises. The amplifying effect of production automation on the skill premium is stronger in firms with high levels of specialization and high levels and positions in global value chains. Improving production automation has expanded the skill premium in the context of deepening the division of labor in enterprises. The mechanism test shows that production automation can promote the deepening of enterprise division of labor, and there are chain and ripple effects of production automation on skill premium from the perspective of deepening multi-level division of labor. Heterogeneity testing shows that the chain and spillover effects have different strengths and weaknesses in the skill premium of general trading enterprises, enterprises in the Middle East, and non-state owned enterprises.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05249-1

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