Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/202831 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 12485
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We investigate the impact of robot adoption on electoral outcomes in 14 Western European countries, between 1993 and 2016. We employ both official election results at the district level and individual-level voting data, combined with party ideology scores from the Manifesto Project. We measure exposure to automation both at the regional level, based on the ex-ante industry specialization of each region, and at the individual level, based on individual characteristics and pre-sample employment patterns in the region of residence. We instrument robot adoption in each country using the pace of robot adoption in other countries. Higher exposure to robot adoption is found to increase support for nationalist and radical-right parties. Unveiling some potential transmission channels, higher robot exposure at the individual level leads to poorer perceived economic conditions and well-being, lower satisfaction with the government and democracy, and a reduction in perceived political self-efficacy.
Subjects: 
radical right
nationalism
automation
JEL: 
D72
J23
J24
O33
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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