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dc.titleRobots Are Us: Some Economics of Human Replacement
dc.contributor.authorBenzell, Seth G.
dc.contributor.orgunitCountry Department Central America, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic
dc.date.available2017-10-20T00:00:00
dc.date.issue2017-04-15T00:00:00
dc.description.abstractWill smart machines replace humans like the internal combustion engine replaced horses? If so, can putting people out of work, or at least out of good work, also put the economy out of business? Our model says yes. Under the right conditions, more supply produces, over time, less demand as the smart machines undermine their customer base. Highly tailored skill- and generation-specific redistribution policiescan keep smart machines from immiserating our posterity. But blunt policies, such as mandating open-source technology, can make matters worse.
dc.format.extent49
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0000867
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Robots-Are-Us-Some-Economics-of-Human-Replacement.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.mediumAdobe PDF
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectEconomic Analysis
dc.subjectLabor Supply
dc.subjectTechnological Change
dc.subject.jelcodeE01 - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth • Environmental Accounts
dc.subject.jelcodeE24 - Employment • Unemployment • Wages • Intergenerational Income Distribution • Aggregate Human Capital • Aggregate Labor Productivity
dc.subject.jelcodeE22 - Investment • Capital • Intangible Capital • Capacity
dc.subject.jelcodeE25 - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
dc.subject.jelcodeH40 - Publicly Provided Goods: General
dc.subject.jelcodeJ01 - Labor Economics: General
dc.subject.jelcodeJ24 - Human Capital • Skills • Occupational Choice • Labor Productivity
dc.subject.jelcodeJ30 - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General
dc.subject.jelcodeL17 - Open Source Products and Markets
dc.subject.jelcodeO30 - Innovation • Research and Development • Technological Change • Intellectual Property Rights: General
dc.subject.keywordsInnovation, Robots, Labor Replacement, Automation, Growth, Intergenerational Transfers, OLG, Smart Technologies, Capital Stocks, Welfare
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberWorking Papers
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