Policy Debate | PILLARS

The Design of Digital Automation Technologies: Implications for the Future of Work

Maria Savona, Tommaso Ciarli, Ed Steinmueller, Simone Vannuccini

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 4-10

Automation technologies, including within the same family, are fundamentally heterogeneous in their design and the tasks they can execute.
While the number of sectors that are exposed to most digital automation technologies is still relatively limited, it is expanding.
Data-intensive technologies are more pervasive in services than in manufacturing sector.
Thi

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/design-digital-auto…

Robots, AI, and Immigration – A Race for Talent or of Displaced Workers

Yvonne Giesing, Britta Rude

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 20-23

Adoption of new technologies can affect different skill groups differently, potentially increasing inequality between migrant and native populations
New technologies often create skill shortages
Industrial robots and artificial intelligence have important beneficial labor market effects on natives, but not migrants
We observe an increase in the immigrant inflow as a

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/robots-ai-and-immig…

The Effect of Robotization in OECD Countries on Latin American Exports

Andreas Baur, Lisandra Flach, Isabella Gourevich

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 33-36

The effects of automation in high-income countries are not limited to domestic economies, but might spill over via global supply chains
We evaluate the effects of robot adoption in OECD countries on exports from Latin America to the OECD along the value chain
We combine detailed firm-level data for four Latin American countries with data on robot adoption and input-outp

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/effect-robotization…

Skills Mismatch, Automation, and Training: Evidence from 17 European Countries Using Survey Data and Online Job Ads

Yuchen Guo, Christina Langer, Fabio Mercorio, Francesco Trentini

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 11-15

Linking survey data and online job ads offers new insights into skills gaps in the EU
Matching labor market needs and skill supply remains a Europe-wide challenge
Manual workers have skill supply shortages, cognitive workers have skill supply surpluses
Workers at higher risk of automation experience higher skill shortages, potentially because their job tasks are

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/skills-mismatch-aut…

Heterogeneous Adjustments of Employment to Automation Technologies: Evidence from Manufacturing Industries in European Regions

Tommaso Ciarli, Florencia Jaccoud, Fabien Petit

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 24-28

Employment adjustments to automation vary across industries, regions, technologies, and time
Technological penetration of robots is related to higher employment within the industry in low-tech regions in the short run
Robots are negatively correlated to employment in knowledge-intensive regions
Regional heterogeneity in employment adjustment to robots is not d

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/heterogeneous-adjus…

Nearshoring and Farsharing in Europe within the Global Economy

Filippo Bontadini, Valentina Meliciani, Maria Savona, Ariel Wirkierman

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 37-42

We distinguish the geographical source and destination of value added contributed by each country-industry to each country-global-value-chain (GVC) from both input sourcing and output destination perspectives
We define indicators that capture the relative intensity of regional vis-à-vis global (i.e., extra-regional) components of foreign value added and employment
Europe is increasingly sourc

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/nearshoring-and-far…

Elderly Left Behind? How Older Workers Can Participate in the Modern Labor Market

Oliver Falck, Valentin Lindlacher, Simon Wiederhold

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 16-19

Digital skills are positively related to employment prospects and productivity of older workers
They also enable older workers to work in high-paying jobs
Fortunately, digital skills can be acquired and honed at all ages
Policymakers should incentivize employers to offer more training for the elderly and fund training programs in higher-education institutions<

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/elderly-left-behind…

Regional Diversification and Inequality between and within Regions

Ron Boschma

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 29-32

The relationship between diversification and wage inequality in regions is still poorly understood
Related diversification is crucial for economic growth of regions
Related diversification in more complex industries tends to increase wage inequality between regions
Related diversification in less complex industries tends to reduce wage inequality
It

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publikationen/2022/aufsatz-zeitschrift/regional-diver…

Brain Drain from Europe to China in a Digital Economy Era?

Chao Ma, Zhong Zhao

EconPol Forum 23 (5), 43-47

In the digital economy era, the organization of labor is no longer restricted by borders
China’s development has increased its demand for high-skilled workers
We build a model where European high-skilled workers can provide services to Chinese domestic firms remotely
High-skilled labor demand from China increases the tightness of the high-skilled but not the low-skilled

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https://www.cesifo.org/en/publications/2022/article-journal/brain-drain-europe-…

Is Working from Home Here to Stay? A Look at 35 Million Job Ads

Jean-Victor Alipour, Christina Langer and Layla O’Kane

ifo Institute, Munich, 2021, CESifo Forum 22 (6), 44-46

We analyze the prevalence of working from home (WfH) in Germany using more than 35 million online job advertisements from 2014 to 2021. While a WfH option was rare in job ads before the crisis, the Covid-19 shock led to an unprecedented WfH boom. At the same time, regional, occupational, and sectoral inequalities in access to WfH have decreased during the pandemic. We also document a higher demand for digital skills, teamwork, and adaptability in job ads with a WfH option. We conclude with an outlook for the future of WfH.

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www.cesifo.org/de/publikationen/2021/aufsatz-zeitschrift/working-home-here-stay…