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Robotization, internal migration and rural decline

Author

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  • Karim Bekhtiar

    (Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS))

Abstract

This paper is the first to analyze the effects of robotization on internal migration flows and rural decline, which is an important driving force of societal and political polarization in many developed economies. Using detailed migration flow data from Austria, I show that robotization has caused significant declines in manufacturing employment, to which populations reacted by increasingly migrating out of affected regions. Since rural regions rely much more than cities on manufacturing employment, these migratory responses largely consist of rural-to-urban flows. Overall, increases in robotization explain roughly one-fourth of rural-to-urban net migration between 2003 and 2016, which is primarily driven by young and medium/low-skilled individuals. Technology-driven labor demand shocks, thus, make an important contribution to rural decline, deepening the cleavage between advantaged and disadvantaged regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Karim Bekhtiar, 2025. "Robotization, internal migration and rural decline," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(3), pages 1-31, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:38:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s00148-025-01109-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-025-01109-z
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employment; Internal migration; Robots; Rural decline;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • P25 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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