Robots, occupations, and worker age: A production-unit analysis of employment

Liuchun Deng, Steffen Müller, Verena Plümpe and Jens Stegmaier
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Steffen Mueller

No 5/2023, IWH Discussion Papers from Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH)

Abstract: We analyse the impact of robot adoption on employment composition using novel micro data on robot use in German manufacturing plants linked with social security records and data on job tasks. Our task-based model predicts more favourable employment effects for the least routine-task intensive occupations and for young workers, with the latter being better at adapting to change. An event-study analysis of robot adoption confirms both predictions. We do not find adverse employment effects for any occupational or age group, but churning among low-skilled workers rises sharply. We conclude that the displacement effect of robots is occupation biased but age neutral, whereas the reinstatement effect is age biased and benefits young workers most.

Keywords: automation; employment; industrial robots; occupation; worker age; workforce composition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 J23 J24 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-tid
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Robots, occupations, and worker age: A production-unit analysis of employment (2024)
Working Paper: Robots, Occupations, and Worker Age: A Production-Unit Analysis of Employment (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:52023

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