Robots and protest

Does increased protest among Chinese workers result in more automation

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4237252
AutoresLarry Liu (0000-0002-5558-1995, Princeton University, autor de correspondencia), Shan Zhang (0000-0001-5142-1559), Han Zhang (0000-0002-5265-7659, Division of Social Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Hong Kong, China)
Año2023
Volumen21
Número3
Páginas1751-1772
Fecha de publicación2023-07-26
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocio-Economic Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1475-1461 • E-ISSN: 1475-147X
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ser/mwac027
OpenAlexW4226144116
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas60

The rising level of automation has increasingly attracted scholars' attention. On the other hand, there are many studies of the consequences of social movements, but relatively fewer studies focus on their economic consequences, and even fewer studies have examined their consequences on automation. This article bridges the gap between the two literatures by hypothesizing that a rising number of labor protests will lead to a higher level of automation. We argue that political economy factors influence the adoption of more automation. Protests anticipate higher wages and labor costs; contest for social power with employers and the state, and, in extreme cases, pose a public relations challenge to employers, which will likely push employers to replace human workers with robots. We empirically test the relationship by using two protest event datasets in China, the China Labor Bulletin and Collective Action from Social Media and robot data from the International Federation of Robotics. Statistical analysis shows that provinces and industries that have more protests also tend to concentrate more robots, and the results are robust to most specifications and placebo tests. The findings have implications for both understanding the mechanism explaining rising automation and the consequences of social protests

Automation · CONTEST · Economics · Labour economics · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Robot · State (computer science) · Artificial Intelligence · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Computer Science · Engineering · Law · Social Capital and Networks · Social Media and Politics