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Robotization, employment, and income: regional asymmetries and long-run policies in the Euro area

Author

Listed:
  • Enzo Valentini

    (University of Macerata)

  • Fabiano Compagnucci

    (Social Sciences, Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI))

  • Mauro Gallegati

    (Università Politecnica delle Marche)

  • Andrea Gentili

    (Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma)

Abstract

This work correlates the impact of robotization on employment and households’ income at the regional scale with the level of investment in R&D and education policies. This kind of policy, by raising the qualitative and quantitative levels of human capital, contributes to improving the complementarity effect between humans and robots, thus mitigating the substitution effect. To this end, we compute the Adjusted Penetration of Robots (APR) (a metric used to measure the extent to which robots are being used in a particular industry or sector) at the sectoral level, combining the International Federation of Robotics database for the stock of robots, EUROSTAT Regional database, and the STructural ANalysis database on 150 NUTS-2 regions of the Euro area. We then perform a spatial stacked-panel analysis on the investment in R&D and education level. Results supports the idea that regions that invest more in R&D and have higher levels of human capital can turn the risk of robotization into an increase in both income and "quantity of work," by enhancing complementarity between robots and the labor force. On the contrary, regions investing less in R&D and having lower levels of human capital may suffer a reduction in households’ disposable income.

Suggested Citation

  • Enzo Valentini & Fabiano Compagnucci & Mauro Gallegati & Andrea Gentili, 2023. "Robotization, employment, and income: regional asymmetries and long-run policies in the Euro area," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 737-771, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joevec:v:33:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s00191-023-00819-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s00191-023-00819-5
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Robotization; Employment; Households’ income; R&D policies; Adjusted Penetration of Robots (APR); Education policies; Regional inequalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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