Abstract
We systematically review the empirical literature on the past four decades
of technological change and its impact on employment, distinguishing be-
tween five broad technology categories (ICT, Robots, Innovation, TFP-style,
Other). We find across studies that the labor displacing effect of technology
appears to be more than offset by compensating mechanisms that create or
reinstate labor. This holds for most technology-types, suggesting that anx-
ieties over widespread technology-driven unemployment lack an empirical
base. Nevertheless, blue-collar workers have been adversely affected by tech-
nological change, and effective up- and reskilling strategies should remain at
the forefront of policy making along targeted support systems.
of technological change and its impact on employment, distinguishing be-
tween five broad technology categories (ICT, Robots, Innovation, TFP-style,
Other). We find across studies that the labor displacing effect of technology
appears to be more than offset by compensating mechanisms that create or
reinstate labor. This holds for most technology-types, suggesting that anx-
ieties over widespread technology-driven unemployment lack an empirical
base. Nevertheless, blue-collar workers have been adversely affected by tech-
nological change, and effective up- and reskilling strategies should remain at
the forefront of policy making along targeted support systems.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 122750 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Technological Forecasting and Social Change |
Volume | 194 |
Early online date | 26 Jul 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Funding: The authors acknowledge support from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No. 822330 TECHNEQUALITY.
Keywords
- Technological Change
- Labor
- Employment
- ICT
- Robots
- Innovation