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The Economics of Babysitting a Robot

Author

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  • Aleksandr Alekseev

    (Chapman University)

Abstract

I study the welfare effect of automation on workers in a setting where technology is complementary but imperfect. Using a modified task-based framework, I argue that imperfect complementary automation can impose non-pecuniary costs on workers via a behavioral channel. The theoretical model suggests that a critical factor determining the welfare effect of imperfect complementary automation is the automatability of the production process. I confirm the model's predictions in an experiment that elicits subjects' revealed preference for automation. Increasing automatability leads to a significant increase in the demand for automation. I explore additional drivers of the demand for automation using machine learning analysis and textual analysis of choice reasons. The analysis reveals that task enjoyment, performance, and cognitive flexibility are the most important predictors of subjects' choices. There is significant heterogeneity in how subjects evaluate imperfect complementary automation. I discuss the implications of my results for workers' welfare, technology adoption, and inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Aleksandr Alekseev, 2020. "The Economics of Babysitting a Robot," Working Papers 20-29, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:chu:wpaper:20-29
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    File URL: https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/esi_working_papers/324/
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Brice Corgnet, 2023. "An Experimental Test of Algorithmic Dismissals," Working Papers 2302, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon.
    2. Chugunova, Marina & Sele, Daniela, 2022. "We and It: An interdisciplinary review of the experimental evidence on how humans interact with machines," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    automation; worker welfare; imperfect technology; task-switching; personnel economics; experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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