Abstract
Unlike previous studies on robotization approaching the future based on the cutting-edge technologies and adopting a framework where robotization is considered as an exogenous variable, this study considers that robotization occurs endogenously and uses it as a dependent variable for an objective examination of the effect of robotization on the labor market. To this end, a robotization indicator is created based on the actual number of industrial robots currently deployed in workplaces, and a multiple regression analysis is performed using the robotization indicator and labor variables such as employment, working hours, and wage. The results using the multiple regression considering the triangular relationship of employment–working-hours–wages show that job destruction due to robotization is not too remarkable yet that use. Our results show the complementary relation between employment and robotization, but the substituting relation between working hour and robotization. The results also demonstrate the effects of union, the size of the company and the proportion of production workers and simple labor workers etc. These findings indicate that the degree of robotization may vary with many factors of the labor market. Limitations of this study and implications for future research are also discussed.
Highlights
One of the core technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution, robotics are an essential and integral element of automation in most manufacturing sectors
By focusing on the interplay between employment, work hours and robotization, this study explores whether human workers and machines can successfully co-exist in the era of the technological change brought by robotization
This circumstance may be viewed as the net effect of employment on robotization because the effects of working hours, wages, union membership rate, and company sizes were controlled
Summary
One of the core technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution, robotics are an essential and integral element of automation in most manufacturing sectors. These industries include the automotive industry and the ever-expanding field of semi-conductors. Between 2003 and 2010, the annual demand for industrial robots in manufacturing sectors increased from 81,000 units to 121,000 units, with a gradual, eventual, documented recorded growth rate of 6% worldwide. There followed an accelerated increase until 2015, with an annual growth rate of 16% [1] Amid such continuing rapid growth in the demand for industrial robots, concern is rising that robot-based innovation in industrial technology could result in widespread job loss despite the fact that robotic innovation would contribute to productivity enhancement. Frey and Osborne [3] imply that there is a possibility of job loss due to technological changes
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