Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/284083 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. WP 2023-42
Version Description: 
Revised: January 1, 2024
Publisher: 
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Abstract: 
What is the effect of robots and tools on employment and inequality? Using natural language processing and an instrumental variable approach, we discover that robots have led to a sizable decrease in the employment and wages of low-skill workers in operational occupations. However, tools - machines that complement labor - have led to an equally large reinstatement of these workers, increasing their employment and wages. Using a quantitative model, we find that the lower prices of robots and tools over the last 20 years have reduced inequality and increased welfare without a significant effect on employment.
Subjects: 
robots
automation
tools
labor-saving
labor-augmenting
JEL: 
J23
J24
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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