GI-NI Webminar #6 · Task Shifts in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Firm-Level Evidence · 14/09/2023 · Online

Computerization has replaced workers in routine occupations and resulted in job polarization. This paper links administrative employment data with a novel firm survey to distinguish computerization from both older and cutting-edge technologies. We find that technology adoption is not associated with an average decline in routine tasks within adopting firms. Instead, de-routinization can be explained by scale and composition effects between firms adopting cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence: large adopters at the outset replace more routine tasks, and initially less routine-intensive adopters grow faster. This suggests successful technology adoption requires complementary investments in re-training and organizational change.