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Abstract
We estimate the impact of firm-level automation on individual worker outcomes by combining Dutch micro-data with a direct measure of automation expenditures covering all private non-financial sector firms. Using a novel difference-in-differences event-study design leveraging lumpy investment, we find that automation increases the probability of incumbent workers separating from their employers. Workers experience a 5-year cumulative wage income loss of 9 percent of one year’s earnings, driven by decreases in days worked. These adverse impacts of automation are larger in smaller firms, and for older and middle-educated workers. By contrast, no such losses are found for firms' investments in computers.
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Citation
Bessen, J., Goos, M., Salomons, A. and W. van den Berge. “What Happens to Workers at Firms that Automate”. Review of Economics and Statistics, January 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01284