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Does the rise of robotic technology make people healthier?

Author

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  • Christian Gunadi
  • Hanbyul Ryu
Abstract
Technological advancements bring changes to our life, altering our behaviors as well as our role in the economy. In this paper, we examine the potential effect of the rise of robotic technology on health. Using the variation in the initial distribution of industrial employment in US cities and the difference in robot adoption across industries over time to predict robot exposure at the local labor market, we find evidence that higher penetration of industrial robots in the local economy is positively related to the health of the low‐skilled population. A 10% increase in robots per 1000 workers is associated with an approximately 10% reduction in the share of low‐skilled individuals reporting poor health. Further analysis suggests that the reallocation of tasks partly explains this finding. A 10% increase in robots per 1000 workers is associated with an approximately 1.5% reduction in physical tasks supplied by low‐skilled workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Gunadi & Hanbyul Ryu, 2021. "Does the rise of robotic technology make people healthier?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(9), pages 2047-2062, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:30:y:2021:i:9:p:2047-2062
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4361
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    Cited by:

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    3. Mbassi, Christophe Martial & Messono, Omang Ombolo, 2023. "Historical technology and current economic development: Reassessing the nature of the relationship," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    4. Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea & Stella, Luca & Wang, Tianyi, 2022. "Industrial robots, Workers’ safety, and health," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. José‐Ignacio Antón & Enrique Fernández‐Macías & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer, 2023. "Does robotization affect job quality? Evidence from European regional labor markets," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(3), pages 233-256, July.
    6. Liu, Qiren & Luo, Sen & Seamans, Robert, 2024. "Pain or anxiety? The health consequences of rising robot adoption in China," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    7. Lordan, Grace & Stringer, Eliza-Jane, 2022. "People versus machines: The impact of being in an automatable job on Australian worker’s mental health and life satisfaction," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    8. Bei Liu & Hong Chen & Shiyan Jiang & Qingqing Sun, 2021. "Why Can’t I Work in a Green Way? Research on the Influencing Mechanism of Employees’ Labor Intentions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-13, October.
    9. Abeliansky, Ana Lucia & Beulmann, Matthias & Prettner, Klaus, 2024. "Are they coming for us? Industrial robots and the mental health of workers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    10. Wei, Xiahai & Xu, Jiawei & Cao, Hui, 2024. "Production automation upgrades and the mystery of workers' overwork: Evidence from a manufacturing employer-employee matching survey in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Melanie Arntz & Sebastian Findeisen & Stephan Maurer & Oliver Schlenker, 2024. "Are we yet sick of new technologies? The unequal health effects of digitalization," CEP Discussion Papers dp1984, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    12. Hyejin Kim, 2024. "The impact of robots on labor demand: evidence from job vacancy data in South Korea," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 1185-1209, September.
    13. Yang, Siying & Liu, Fengshuo & Lu, Jingjing & He, Xiaogang, 2022. "Does occupational injury promote industrial robot applications?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    14. O'Brien, Rourke & Bair, Elizabeth F. & Venkataramani, Atheendar S., 2022. "Death by Robots? Automation and Working-Age Mortality in the United States," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 607-628.
    15. Grimm, Felix, 2024. "Digital Technologies, Job Quality and Employer-provided Training," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302402, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    16. Klump, Rainer & Jurkat, Anne & Schneider, Florian, 2021. "Tracking the rise of robots: A survey of the IFR database and its applications," MPRA Paper 110390, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Wenyi Lu & Siyuan Fan, 2024. "Drinking in despair: Unintended consequences of automation in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(9), pages 2088-2104, September.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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