RESEARCh
RESEARCh
with Shubhdeep Deb, Jan Eeckhout and Larry Warren
Econometrica. Vol 92 (3), 603-636, May 2024. DOI. Draft
Comments: Gianluca Violante, John Van Reenan, Response
with Shubhdeep Deb, Jan Eeckhout and Larry Warren
Journal of the European Economic Association. 20 (6), 2181-2225, December 2022. DOI. Draft.
with Nicolò Dalvit and Joanne Tan
SSRN Draft | [Revised draft coming soon]
Abstract: I show novel evidence using French administrative data that automation reduced wage markdowns by 3% - reflecting increased labour market power - and increased concentration by 20%, with effects intensifying over time. To quantify the aggregate implications, I develop a general equilibrium model with oligopsonistic labour markets, endogenous automation adoption, and firm entry. Using the reduced-form evidence to discipline the model, I find that median welfare would be approximately 13% higher, and aggregate output 2% higher, had automation occurred without raising labour market power.
with Zsofia Barany and Christian Siegal
Paper | [Submitted]
Abstract: A prominent explanation for declining labor shares is automation. We test this mechanism directly at the firm level, drawing on a central prediction of the task-based model of production: firms that automate more should see larger declines in routine employment and labor share. Using administrative data from France between 1994 and 2019, we find no support for this prediction. Changes in routine employment share are either uncorrelated or even negatively correlated with changes in labor share within firms. Our evidence shows that automation is not driving labor share dynamics in France.
I was honored with the "Best Young Labor Economist" prize by the European Association of Labour Economist for this paper.
A small Twitter thread on the paper!
Lo Bello and Pesaresi