Abstract:
The new technological revolution of robotics and artificial intelligence has revolutionized economic development and the labor market. This paper empirically analyzes the effects and heterogeneity of the application of new technologies of robotics and artificial intelligence on China's labor market using the instrumental variables method with data from the China employer-employee matching survey. The study finds that compared with firms that do not use robotics, there is a significant difference in the proportion of employees of various categories in firms that introduce robots, with the proportion of technology research and development personnel being relatively 5% higher and the proportion of production workers being relatively 14% lower. Employees in firms using robotics are relatively better paid, and despite the relatively lower share of production workers, average wage returns still realize a significant increase, averaging 15.7% higher. Heterogeneity analysis reveals the reason behind this difference, as employees with higher education levels and higher cognitive and communication skills in robotics are more responsive to the needs of firms adopting new technologies and significantly increase their own wage returns. The findings of this paper provide insights into relevant policy responses for China's labor market to adapt to the new technological revolution of robotics and artificial intelligence.