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Death by Robots? Automation and Working-Age Mortality in the United States

Author

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  • O'Brien, Rourke
  • Bair, Elizabeth F.
  • Venkataramani, Atheendar S.

Abstract

The decline of manufacturing employment is frequently invoked as a key cause of worsening U.S. population health trends, including rising mortality due to “deaths of despair.” Increasing automation—the use of industrial robots to perform tasks previously done by human workers—is one structural force driving the decline of manufacturing jobs and wages. In this study, we examine the impact of automation on age- and sex-specific mortality. Using exogenous variation in automation to support causal inference, we find that increases in automation over the period 1993–2007 led to substantive increases in all-cause mortality for both men and women aged 45–54. Disaggregating by cause, we find evidence that automation is associated with increases in drug overdose deaths, suicide, homicide, and cardiovascular mortality, although patterns differ by age and sex. We further examine heterogeneity in effects by safety net program generosity, labor market policies, and the supply of prescription opioids.

Suggested Citation

  • O'Brien, Rourke & Bair, Elizabeth F. & Venkataramani, Atheendar S., 2022. "Death by Robots? Automation and Working-Age Mortality in the United States," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 607-628.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:270859
    DOI: 10.1215/00703370-9774819
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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. Michael Cauvel & Miguel Alejandro Sanchez, 2023. "Life Expectancy and the Labor Share in the U.S," Working Papers PKWP2308, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    3. Anna Matysiak & Daniela Bellani & Honorata Bogusz, 2023. "Industrial Robots and Regional Fertility in European Countries," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-36, December.
    4. Mariia Vasiakina & Christian Dudel, 2024. "From efficiency to illness: do highly automatable jobs take a toll on health in Germany?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2024-041, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    5. Ilaria Natali & Mathias Dewatripont & Victor Ginsburgh & Michel Goldman & Patrick Legros, 2023. "Prescription opioids and economic hardship in France," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(9), pages 1473-1504, December.
    6. Giuntella, Osea & König, Johannes & Stella, Luca, 2023. "Artificial Intelligence and Workers' Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 16485, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Shannon M. Monnat, 2022. "Demographic and Geographic Variation in Fatal Drug Overdoses in the United States, 1999–2020," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 703(1), pages 50-78, September.
    8. Liu, Qiren & Luo, Sen & Seamans, Robert, 2024. "Pain or anxiety? The health consequences of rising robot adoption in China," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    9. Dylan S Connor & Aleksander K BergArizona & Tom Kemeny & Peter J Kedron, 2024. "Who gets left behind by left behind places?," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 17(1), pages 37-58.
    10. Abdullah Baz & Riaz Ahmed & Suhel Ahmad Khan & Sudesh Kumar, 2023. "Security Risk Assessment Framework for the Healthcare Industry 5.0," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-27, December.
    11. repec:osf:socarx:nkydt_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Lowenstein, Christopher, 2024. "“Deaths of despair” over the business cycle: New estimates from a shift-share instrumental variables approach," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    13. Camacho, Christine & Webb, Roger T. & Bower, Peter & Munford, Luke, 2024. "Risk factors for deaths of despair in England: An ecological study of local authority mortality data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).

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