Racing With or Against the Machine?: Evidence from Europe

Terry Gregory; A.M. Salomons; Ulrich Zierahn

Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence from Europe

Terry Gregory, A.M. Salomons, Ulrich Zierahn

Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW)

Research output: Working paper › Academic

Abstract

A fast-growing literature shows that digital technologies are displacing labor from routine tasks, raising concerns that labor is racing against the machine. We develop a task-based framework to estimate the aggregate labor demand and employment effects of routine replacing technological change (RRTC), along with the underlying mechanisms. We show that while RRTC has indeed had strong displacement effects in the European Union between 1999 and 2010, it has simultaneously created new jobs through increased product demand, outweighing displacement effects and resulting in net employment growth. However, we also show that this finding depends on the distribution of gains from technological progress

Original language	English
Publisher	U.S.E. Research Institute
Volume	18
Publication status	Published - Sept 2018

Publication series

Name	U.S.E. Working Paper series
No.	07
Volume	18
ISSN (Electronic)	2666-8238

Keywords

Labor Demand
Employment
Routine-Replacing Technological Change
Tasks
Local Demand Spillovers
T

Access to Document

18-07

Cite this

@techreport{4414faaf3bae43fba9621ada6befec14,

title = "Racing With or Against the Machine?: Evidence from Europe",

abstract = "A fast-growing literature shows that digital technologies are displacing labor from routine tasks, raising concerns that labor is racing against the machine. We develop a task-based framework to estimate the aggregate labor demand and employment effects of routine replacing technological change (RRTC), along with the underlying mechanisms. We show that while RRTC has indeed had strong displacement effects in the European Union between 1999 and 2010, it has simultaneously created new jobs through increased product demand, outweighing displacement effects and resulting in net employment growth. However, we also show that this finding depends on the distribution of gains from technological progress",

keywords = "Labor Demand, Employment, Routine-Replacing Technological Change, Tasks, Local Demand Spillovers, T",

author = "Terry Gregory and A.M. Salomons and Ulrich Zierahn",

year = "2018",

month = sep,

language = "English",

volume = "18",

series = "U.S.E. Working Paper series ",

publisher = "U.S.E. Research Institute",

number = "07",

edition = "07",

type = "WorkingPaper",

institution = "U.S.E. Research Institute",

}

TY - UNPB

T1 - Racing With or Against the Machine?

T2 - Evidence from Europe

AU - Gregory, Terry

AU - Salomons, A.M.

AU - Zierahn, Ulrich

PY - 2018/9

Y1 - 2018/9

N2 - A fast-growing literature shows that digital technologies are displacing labor from routine tasks, raising concerns that labor is racing against the machine. We develop a task-based framework to estimate the aggregate labor demand and employment effects of routine replacing technological change (RRTC), along with the underlying mechanisms. We show that while RRTC has indeed had strong displacement effects in the European Union between 1999 and 2010, it has simultaneously created new jobs through increased product demand, outweighing displacement effects and resulting in net employment growth. However, we also show that this finding depends on the distribution of gains from technological progress

AB - A fast-growing literature shows that digital technologies are displacing labor from routine tasks, raising concerns that labor is racing against the machine. We develop a task-based framework to estimate the aggregate labor demand and employment effects of routine replacing technological change (RRTC), along with the underlying mechanisms. We show that while RRTC has indeed had strong displacement effects in the European Union between 1999 and 2010, it has simultaneously created new jobs through increased product demand, outweighing displacement effects and resulting in net employment growth. However, we also show that this finding depends on the distribution of gains from technological progress

KW - Labor Demand

KW - Employment

KW - Routine-Replacing Technological Change

KW - Tasks

KW - Local Demand Spillovers

KW - T

M3 - Working paper

VL - 18

T3 - U.S.E. Working Paper series

BT - Racing With or Against the Machine?

PB - U.S.E. Research Institute

ER -