Will robots replace us? : an Empirical analysis of the impacts of robotization on employment in the Norwegian manufacturing industry

2017

Rapid advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and digital technologies have

introduced renewed concern that labor will become redundant. The aim of this thesis

is to assess whether there exists a relationship between robotization and employment

in the time periods 1996-2005 and 2008-2015 in Norwegian manufacturing

industries. We exploit data on operational robots from the International Federation

of Robotics and individual level data from the Norwegian Labour Force Survey, to

assess a potential relationship between increased robotization and the probability

of being employed within the manufacturing industries. Utilizing linear probability

models, we find no negative relationship between increased robotization and the

probability of being employed in Norwegian manufacturing industries. Further, we

find indications of a relationship between increased robotization and skill-biases.

However, the relationships are of no economic significance. Our findings are consistent

with previous research on the impacts of robotization on employment outcomes.

Further, we find that robotization is distinct and weakly correlated to import

density and capital density.