Robots, jobs, and optimal fertility timing

Claudio Costanzo ()
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Claudio Costanzo: Université Libre de Bruxelles

Journal of Population Economics, 2025, vol. 38, issue 2, No 15, 33 pages

Abstract: Abstract This paper examines how industrial robots influence the timing of childbirth in Europe. Higher exposure to robots is associated with earlier fertility in low- and high-skilled regional labor markets and with a delay in medium-skilled ones. The underlying mechanisms are rationalized through a model of fertility, parameterized with data on individuals’ expectations about the displacement and creation of jobs due to automation. Variations in the simulated timing of childbirth are associated with corresponding changes in childlessness rates. The results establish a link between the Routine-Biased Technological Change hypothesis and demographic behavior.

Keywords: Automation; Demography; Fertility; Robots (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J10 J13 J20 J21 O30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s00148-025-01105-3

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