IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/anresc/v72y2024i4d10.1007_s00168-023-01234-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial distribution and characteristics of vulnerable occupations to artificial intelligence: cases from South Korea

Author

Listed:
  • Seongjun Yang

    (Pusan National University)

  • Donghyun Kim

    (Pusan National University)

Abstract

With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent and is expected to replace a range of human tasks. In this context, this study seeks to identify occupations that are vulnerable to AI, and focuses on their occupational and spatial characteristics. Korean patent data within Google Patents and tasks of occupations based on ISCO-08 were collected and analyzed via dependency parsing to reveal the corresponding tasks and occupations with AI's technical characteristics. Our analysis highlights the vulnerability of tasks that have remained unchanged for a long time, while managerial professions and other occupations involving new and complex tasks based on know-how are less susceptible to the influence of AI. The study also shows significant regional disparities in labor distribution according to AI vulnerability in Korea, forming a strong spatial cluster. While previous waves of automation primarily affected manual labor involving unskilled work and low levels of education, AI is expected to replace various forms of middle and high skilled and educated human work. As such, this study recommends that local governments prepare for the polarization of the labor market by AI based on the understanding of their employment structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Seongjun Yang & Donghyun Kim, 2024. "Spatial distribution and characteristics of vulnerable occupations to artificial intelligence: cases from South Korea," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1079-1103, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:72:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s00168-023-01234-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s00168-023-01234-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00168-023-01234-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00168-023-01234-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:72:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s00168-023-01234-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.