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Pandemics and Automation: Will the Lost Jobs Come Back?
Author: Tahsin Saadi Sedik
Series:
IMF Working Papers
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2021: Issue 011
Language:
English
Publication Date:
15 Jan 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513566849.001
ISBN:
9781513566849
ISSN:
1018-5941
Pages:
26
Keywords:
Pandemics; Robots; Inequality.; WP; pandemic event; studies showing; impact of pandemic; country-industry pair level; industry breakdown; COVID-19; Inequality; pandemic dummy; Robotics; Income inequality; Automation; Communicable diseases; Global; Asia and Pacific; Unskilled labor
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IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
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COVID-19 has exacerbated concerns about the rise of the robots and other automation technologies. This paper analyzes empirically the impact of past major pandemics on robot adoption and inequality. First, we find that pandemic events accelerate robot adoption, especially when the health impact is severe and is associated with a significant economic downturn. Second, while robots may raise productivity, they could also increase inequality by displacing low-skilled workers. We find that following a pandemic, the increase in inequality over the medium term is larger for economies with higher robot density and where new robot adoption has increased more. Our results suggest that the concerns about the rise of the robots amid the COVID-19 pandemic seem justified.
Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF Working Papers
ISSN:
1018-5941
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund

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