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Robots at work? Pitfalls of industry‐level data

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  • Karim Bekhtiar
  • Benjamin Bittschi
  • Richard Sellner

Abstract

In their seminal paper, Graetz and Michaels (2018) find that robots increase productivity, lower output prices, and adversely affect the share of low‐skilled labor. We demonstrate that these effects are partly driven by the sample composition and argue that focusing on manufacturing industries yields more credible results regarding the overall economic effects of robotization. The results show that focusing on robotizing industries leads to a sizable drop of the productivity effects, halving the effect size for labor productivity. Pronounced consequences from the sample choice occur for wage effects that are reversed from significantly positive into significantly negative. Controlling for demographic workforce characteristics proves to be essential for the significant labor productivity effects and leads to the reversal for wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Karim Bekhtiar & Benjamin Bittschi & Richard Sellner, 2024. "Robots at work? Pitfalls of industry‐level data," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(6), pages 1180-1189, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:japmet:v:39:y:2024:i:6:p:1180-1189
    DOI: 10.1002/jae.3073
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    Cited by:

    1. Nikolova, Milena & Cnossen, Femke & Nikolaev, Boris, 2024. "Robots, meaning, and self-determination," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(5).
    2. Zuazu-Bermejo, Izaskun, 2022. "Robots and women in manufacturing employment," ifso working paper series 19, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute for Socioeconomics (ifso).
    3. Antón, José-Ignacio & Fernández-Macías, Enrique & Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf, 2020. "Does Robotization Affect Job Quality? Evidence from European Regional Labour Markets," IZA Discussion Papers 13975, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Andreas Eder & Wolfgang Koller & Bernhard Mahlberg, 2024. "The contribution of industrial robots to labor productivity growth and economic convergence: a production frontier approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 157-181, April.
    5. Schneider, Florian, 2024. "Do robots boost productivity? A quantitative meta-study," MPRA Paper 123392, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • L60 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - General
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

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