Should We Fear the Robot Revolution? (The Correct Answer is Yes)
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Summary:
We may be on the cusp of a “second industrial revolution” based on advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. We analyze the implications for inequality and output, using a model with two assumptions: “robot” capital is distinct from traditional capital in its degree of substitutability with human labor; and only capitalists and skilled workers save. We analyze a range of variants that reflect widely different views of how automation may transform the labor market. Our main results are surprisingly robust: automation is good for growth and bad for equality; in the benchmark model real wages fall in the short run and eventually rise, but “eventually” can easily take generations.
Series:
Working Paper No. 18/116
Subject:
General equilibrium models Income distribution Production Technological innovation
English
Publication Date:
May 21, 2018
ISBN/ISSN:
9781484300831/1018-5941
Stock No:
WPIEA2018116
Price:
$18.00 (Academic Rate:$18.00)
Format:
Paper
Pages:
61
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