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Heterogeneous effects of robots on employment in agriculture, industry, and services sectors

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  • Sun, Wenyuan
  • Zhang, Zhonghui
  • Chen, Yang
  • Luan, Fushu

Abstract

This paper investigates how the impact of robots on employment differs across various sectors. Based on country-level data, our analysis reveals a U-shaped relationship between overall employment and robot usage. However, we observe different trends in the agriculture, industry, and services sectors. We explore how the relationship between robot usage and employment evolves with increasing robot adoption and how these patterns vary across sectors. Additionally, our findings suggest that productivity serves as both a moderator and mediator in the relationship between employment and robot usage. We evaluate how the effect of robots on employment differs in countries with varying levels of productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Sun, Wenyuan & Zhang, Zhonghui & Chen, Yang & Luan, Fushu, 2023. "Heterogeneous effects of robots on employment in agriculture, industry, and services sectors," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:75:y:2023:i:c:s0160791x23001768
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102371
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