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Return of the Solow-paradox in AI? AI-adoption and firm productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Bäck, Asta

    (VTT)

  • Hajikhani, Arash

    (VTT)

  • Jäger, Angela

    (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI)

  • Schubert, Torben

    (CIRCLE, Lund University)

  • Suominen, Arho

    (VTT)

Abstract
AI-related technologies have become ubiquitous in many business contexts. However, to date empirical accounts of the productivity effects of AI-adoption by firms are scarce. Using Finnish data on job advertisements between 2013 and 2019, we identify job advertisements referring to AI-related skills. Matching this data to productivity data from ORBIS, we estimate the productivity effects of AI related activities in our sample. Our results indicate that AI-adoption increases productivity, with three important qualifications. Firstly, effects are only observable for large firms with more than 499 employees. Secondly, there is evidence that early adopters did not experience productivity increases. This may be interpreted as technological immaturity.Thirdly, we find evidence of delays of least three years between the adoption of AI and ensuing productivity effects (investment delay effect). We argue that our findings on the technological immaturity and the investment delay effect may help explain the so-called AI-related return of the Solow-paradox: I.e. that AI is everywhere except in the productivity statistics.

Suggested Citation

  • Bäck, Asta & Hajikhani, Arash & Jäger, Angela & Schubert, Torben & Suominen, Arho, 2022. "Return of the Solow-paradox in AI? AI-adoption and firm productivity," Papers in Innovation Studies 2022/1, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2022_001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Recruiting personnel; AI related jobs; Artificial Intelligence; Job Market; Text Mining; Firm performance; Productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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