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Benign Effects of Automation: New Evidence from Patent Texts

Author

Listed:
  • Katja Mann

    (Copenhagen Business School)

  • Lukas Püttmann

    (Unaffiliated)

Abstract

We provide a new measure of automation based on patents and study its employment effects. Classifying all U.S. patents granted between 1976 and 2014 as automation or nonautomation patents, we document a strong rise in the number and share of automation patents. We link patents to their industries of use and to commuting zones. To estimate the effect of automation, we use an instrumental variables strategy that relies on innovations developed independently from U.S. labor market trends. We find that automation technology has a positive effect on employment in local labor markets, driven by job growth in the service sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Katja Mann & Lukas Püttmann, 2023. "Benign Effects of Automation: New Evidence from Patent Texts," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(3), pages 562-579, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:105:y:2023:i:3:p:562-579
    DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_01083
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    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Lei & Li, Tianze & Phan, Quoc & Wu, Zhenyu & Zheng, Steven Xiaofan, 2024. "Automation exposure and operating performance," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    2. Ali Sina Önder & Sascha Schweitzer & Olga Tcaci, 2024. "Innovation and Regional Development: The Impact of Patenting on Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2024-07, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.
    3. Dario Guarascio & Alessandro Piccirillo & Jelena Reljic, 2024. "Will robot replace workers? Assessing the impact of robots on employment and wages with meta-analysis," Working Papers in Public Economics 245, Department of Economics and Law, Sapienza University of Roma.
    4. Doorley, Karina & Gromadzki, Jan & Lewandowski, Piotr & Tuda, Dora & Van Kerm, Philippe, 2023. "Automation and Income Inequality in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 16499, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Ekaterina Prytkova & Fabien Petit & Deyu Li & Sugat Chaturvedi & Tommaso Ciarli, 2024. "The Employment Impact of Emerging Digital Technologies," CEPEO Working Paper Series 24-01, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Feb 2024.
    6. Qiu, Jiaping & Wan, Chi & Wang, Yan, 2024. "Labor-saving innovations and capital structure," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Toon Van Overbeke, 2023. "Conflict or cooperation? Exploring the relationship between cooperative institutions and robotisation," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 550-573, September.
    8. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2024. "Use of Artificial Intelligence and Productivity: Evidence from firm and worker surveys," Discussion papers 24074, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    9. Röser, Florian & Niemann, Stefan & Angelini, Daniele, 2023. "Fiscal Policy and Human Capital in the Race Against the Machine," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277672, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    10. Jurkat, Anne & Klump, Rainer & Schneider, Florian, 2023. "Robots and Wages: A Meta-Analysis," EconStor Preprints 274156, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    11. Hideki Nakamura & Joseph Zeira, 2024. "Automation and unemployment: help is on the way," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 215-250, June.
    12. Ana Abeliansky & Klaus Prettner & Ernesto Rodríguez Crespo, 2024. "Climate change and automation: the emission effects of robot adoption," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp370, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    13. Alex Chernoff & Gabriela Galassi, 2023. "Digitalization: Labour Markets," Discussion Papers 2023-16, Bank of Canada.
    14. Danzer, Alexander M. & Feuerbaum, Carsten & Gaessler, Fabian, 2024. "Labor supply and automation innovation: Evidence from an allocation policy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    15. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Tianhui, 2024. "The impact of renewable energy policies on the energy transition -– An empirical analysis of Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).

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