Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence from Europe

Terry Gregory, Anna Salomons () and Ulrich Zierahn-Weilage
Additional contact information
Anna Salomons: Utrecht University

No 12063, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: A fast-growing literature shows that digital technologies are displacing labor from routine tasks, raising concerns that labor is racing against the machine. We develop a task-based framework to estimate the aggregate labor demand and employment effects of routine-replacing technological change (RRTC), along with the underlying mechanisms. We show that while RRTC has indeed had strong displacement effects in the European Union between 1999 and 2010, it has simultaneously created new jobs through increased product demand, outweighing displacement effects and resulting in net employment growth. However, we also show that this finding depends on the distribution of gains from technological progress.

Keywords: routine-replacing technological change; tasks; labor demand; local demand spillovers; employment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J23 J24 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 62 pages
Date: 2019-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-big, nep-ict, nep-ino, nep-lma and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

Published - published as 'Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence on the Role of Trade in Europe" in: Journal of the European Economic Association , 2022, 20 (2), 869 - 906

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https://docs.iza.org/dp12063.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence from Europe (2018)
Working Paper: Racing With or Against the Machine?: Evidence from Europe (2018)
Working Paper: Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence from Europe (2016)
Working Paper: Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence from Europe (2016)
Working Paper: Racing with or against the machine? Evidence from Europe (2016)
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