IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/intlab/v163y2024i2p271-293.html

Robots and employment: A review

Author

Listed:
  • Shahab SHARFAEI

Abstract

Rapid advances in robotics signal a scientific breakthrough that could have major implications for the world economy and the field of economics. This article reviews recent literature on this topic to examine the evidence from two perspectives. First, I critically review the theoretical literature on the effects of robot adoption on employment and analyse the capacity of different theories to describe these influences. Second, I evaluate the current empirical evidence regarding the impact of robot technology on the economy in terms of employment and reshoring. This exercise highlights the limitations in the literature and points to avenues for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Shahab SHARFAEI, 2024. "Robots and employment: A review," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 163(2), pages 271-293, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:intlab:v:163:y:2024:i:2:p:271-293
    DOI: 10.1111/ilr.12417
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ilr.12417
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ilr.12417?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The skill content of recent technological change: an empirical exploration," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue Nov.
    2. Jay Dixon & Bryan Hong & Lynn Wu, 2021. "The Robot Revolution: Managerial and Employment Consequences for Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5586-5605, September.
    3. Zsolt Darvas & Guntram B. Wolff, . "An anatomy of inclusive growth in Europe," Bruegel Blueprints, Bruegel, number 17266.
    4. Balsmeier, Benjamin & Woerter, Martin, 2019. "Is this time different? How digitalization influences job creation and destruction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    5. Jacopo Staccioli & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2021. "Back to the past: the historical roots of labor-saving automation," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(1), pages 27-57, March.
    6. Stemmler, Henry, 2019. "Does automation lead to de-industrialization in emerging economies? Evidence from Brazil," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 382, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    7. Arntz, Melanie & Gregory, Terry & Zierahn, Ulrich, 2017. "Revisiting the risk of automation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 157-160.
    8. Georgios Petropoulos & David Pichler & Francesco Chiacchio, 2018. "The impact of industrial robots on EU employment and wages- A local labour market approach," Bruegel Working Papers 25186, Bruegel.
    9. Rajeev K. Goel & Michael A. Nelson, 2022. "Employment effects of R&D and process innovation: evidence from small and medium-sized firms in emerging markets," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 12(1), pages 97-123, March.
    10. Fabien Petit & Florencia Jaccoud & Tommaso Ciarli, 2023. "Heterogeneous Adjustments of Labor Markets to Automation Technologies," CESifo Working Paper Series 10237, CESifo.
    11. James Bessen, 2019. "Automation and jobs: when technology boosts employment," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 34(100), pages 589-626.
    12. Krenz, Astrid & Prettner, Klaus & Strulik, Holger, 2021. "Robots, reshoring, and the lot of low-skilled workers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    13. David H. Autor, 2015. "Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 3-30, Summer.
    14. Van Reenen, John, 2011. "Wage inequality, technology and trade: 21st century evidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 730-741.
    15. Jasmine Mondolo, 2022. "The composite link between technological change and employment: A survey of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1027-1068, September.
    16. Faber, Marius, 2020. "Robots and reshoring: Evidence from Mexican labor markets," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    17. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2018. "Modeling Automation," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 48-53, May.
    18. (Maggie) Fu, Xiaoqing & Bao, Qun & Xie, Hongjun & Fu, Xiaolan, 2021. "Diffusion of industrial robotics and inclusive growth: Labour market evidence from cross country data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 670-684.
    19. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(6), pages 2188-2244.
    20. Erhan Artuc & Luc Christiaensen & Hernan Winkler, 2019. "Does Automation in Rich Countries Hurt Developing Ones? Evidence from the U.S. and Mexico," World Bank Publications - Reports 31425, The World Bank Group.
    21. Katja Mann & Lukas Püttmann, 2023. "Benign Effects of Automation: New Evidence from Patent Texts," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(3), pages 562-579, May.
    22. Wolfgang Dauth & Sebastian Findeisen & Jens Suedekum & Nicole Woessner, 2021. "The Adjustment of Labor Markets to Robots [“Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(6), pages 3104-3153.
    23. Robert C. Feenstra, 2010. "Offshoring in the Global Economy: Microeconomic Structure and Macroeconomic Implications," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262013835, December.
    24. Guy Michaels & Ashwini Natraj & John Van Reenen, 2010. "Has ICT Polarized Skill Demand? Evidence from Eleven Countries over 25 Years," CEP Discussion Papers dp0987, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    25. Guy Michaels & Ashwini Natraj & John Van Reenen, 2014. "Has ICT Polarized Skill Demand? Evidence from Eleven Countries over Twenty-Five Years," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(1), pages 60-77, March.
    26. David Hémous & Morten Olsen, 2022. "The Rise of the Machines: Automation, Horizontal Innovation, and Income Inequality," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 179-223, January.
    27. Katherine Stapleton & Michael Webb, 2020. "Automation, trade and multinational activity: Micro evidence from Spain," CSAE Working Paper Series 2020-16, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    28. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thinh Huu Nguyen & Shahab Sharfaei & Jindřich Soukup, 2026. "The Role of Robotization in Reshoring and the Implications on International Trade," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 175-203, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dario Guarascio & Alessandro Piccirillo & Jelena Reljic, 2024. "Will robot replace workers? Assessing the impact of robots on employment and wages with meta-analysis," LEM Papers Series 2024/03, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    2. Jasmine Mondolo, 2022. "The composite link between technological change and employment: A survey of the literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1027-1068, September.
    3. Chen, Xiaoxiao & Yang, Jiayi & Wu, Bo, 2025. "How is artificial intelligence shaping the labor demand of firms? ——evidence from text-mining analysis of listed companies," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(10).
    4. Dario Guarascio & Alessandro Piccirillo & Jelena Reljic, 2025. "Robots vs. Workers: Evidence From a Meta‐Analysis," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(5), pages 2254-2271, December.
    5. Caselli, Mauro & Fracasso, Andrea & Scicchitano, Sergio & Traverso, Silvio & Tundis, Enrico, 2025. "What workers and robots do: An activity-based analysis of the impact of robotization on changes in local employment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    6. Battisti & M. Del Gatto & A. Gravina & C. Parmeter, 2021. "Robots versus labor skills: a complementarity/substitutability analysis," Working Paper CRENoS 202104, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    7. Jurkat, Anne & Klump, Rainer & Schneider, Florian, 2025. "Robots and wages: A meta-analysis," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 541-567.
    8. Gravina, Antonio Francesco & Foster-McGregor, Neil, 2020. "Automation, globalisation and relative wages: An empirical analysis of winners and losers," MERIT Working Papers 2020-040, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    9. de Vries, Gaaitzen J. & Gentile, Elisabetta & Miroudot, Sébastien & Wacker, Konstantin M., 2020. "The rise of robots and the fall of routine jobs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Hidalgo, Camila & Micco, Alejandro, 2024. "Computerization, offshoring and trade: The effect on developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    11. David Autor & Caroline Chin & Anna Salomons & Bryan Seegmiller, 2024. "New Frontiers: The Origins and Content of New Work, 1940–2018," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 139(3), pages 1399-1465.
    12. Antonio Francesco Gravina & Neil Foster-McGregor, 2024. "Unraveling wage inequality: tangible and intangible assets, globalization and labor market regulations," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 1375-1420, October.
    13. Wang, Jianlong & Wang, Weilong & Liu, Yong & Wu, Haitao, 2023. "Can industrial robots reduce carbon emissions? Based on the perspective of energy rebound effect and labor factor flow in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    14. Zhang, Xinchun & Sun, Murong & Liu, Jianxu & Xu, Aijia, 2024. "The nexus between industrial robot and employment in China: The effects of technology substitution and technology creation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    15. Andrés César & Guillermo Falcone & Pablo Garriga, 2022. "Robots, Exports and Top Income Inequality: Evidence for the U.S," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0307, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    16. Borsato, Andrea & Lorentz, André, 2023. "The Kaldor–Verdoorn law at the age of robots and AI," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(10).
    17. Sharfaei, Shahab & Bittner, Jan, 2024. "Technological employment: Evidence from worldwide robot adoption," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    18. Lekfuangfu, Warn N. & Nakavachara, Voraprapa, 2021. "Reshaping Thailand's labor market: The intertwined forces of technology advancements and shifting supply chains," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    19. Cao, Yuanyuan & Chen, Shaojian & Tang, Heyan, 2025. "Robot adoption and firm export: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    20. Wang, Ting & Zhang, Yi & Liu, Chun, 2024. "Robot adoption and employment adjustment: Firm-level evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

    More about this item

    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:bla:intlab:v:163:y:2024:i:2:p:271-293. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ilounch.html .

    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.