Robots and Employment: Evidence from Japan, 1978-2017

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Adachi, Daisuke; Kawaguchi, Daiji; Saito, Yukiko U.
• 署名单位: Aarhus University; University of Tokyo; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Waseda University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/723205
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 591-634
• 关键词: technology; decline; GROWTH

摘要

This paper studies the relationship between industrial robots and employment in Japan on the basis of a unique dataset that allows us to calculate the unit price of robots. Our model combines standard factor demand theory with a recent task-based approach to derive a simple estimation equation between robot prices and employment, and our identification strategy leverages heterogeneous applications of robots across industries and heterogeneous price changes across applications. We find that the decline in robot prices increased both the number of robots and employment by raising the productivity and production scale of robot-adopting industries.