Automation vulnerability, voting, and self-employment

Abstract

We ask whether the prevalence of self-employment is higher among individuals voting right and facing automation vulnerability? Under growing automation vulnerability, those with right-leaning political orientations may be influenced by their stronger beliefs towards free markets, individualism, autonomy, and self-reliance, and may therefore, be more likely to prevail in self-employment. Counter to our expectation, we find those vulnerable to automation and voting mainstream left were less likely to be self-employed. Automation vulnerability was associated with no systematic differences in wage or self-employment prevalence among those voting mainstream right, radical-right or radical left. The findings have implications for research on political values influencing the prevalence of self-employment under growing automation vulnerability.