Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/289893 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
Documento de Trabajo No. 312
Publisher: 
Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS), La Plata
Abstract: 
We study the effect of robots on labor markets in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, the major robot users in Latin America, during the period 2004{2016. We exploit spatial and time variations in exposure to robots arising from initial differences in industry specialization across geographic locations and the evolution of robot adoption across industries, to estimate a causal effect of robots on local labor market outcomes. We find that district's exposure to robots causes a relative deterioration in labor market indicators such us unemployment and labor informality. We document that robots mainly replace formal salaried jobs, affecting young and semi-skilled workers to a greater extent, and that informal employment acts as a buffer that prevents a larger increase in unemployment.
Subjects: 
Robot Adoption
Local Labor Markets
Latin America
Unemployment
Informality
JEL: 
J23
J24
J31
J46
O14
O17
R10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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