The Impact Of Robot Import On The Labor Income Share Of Enterprises

The rapid development and application of automation technology has brought extensive and far-reaching influence to economy and society.At present,China’s industrial robot market is developing rapidly.China has been the world’s largest market for industrial robots since 2013,according to statistics released by the International Federation of Robotics(IFR).The proposed "Made in China 2025" in 2015 greatly promoted the rapid development of industrial robots,which not only promoted the rapid development of the economy and society,but also had a significant impact on the labor market.One can’t help but worry about whether the labor force will share in economic growth,that is,what will happen to the labor share of income as the economy grows.In this regard,based on the panel data of listed manufacturing companies in China,this paper analyzes the impact and mechanism of robot imports on China’s labor income share,in order to provide empirical support for effectively dealing with the impact of robot imports on labor income distribution.First,this paper reviews the relevant literature and theoretical basis to discuss the impact of robotics on labor income share.On this basis,this paper analyzes the current status of robot imports and labor income share respectively.Then,based on relevant theoretical models,this paper analyzes the effect direction of robot import on labor income share,and analyzes the path of robot import affecting labor income share from the two aspects of wage rate effect and productivity effect.Thirdly,the bidirectional fixed effect model of robot import affecting labor income share is constructed,and the influence of robot import on labor income share is analyzed through empirical test.The heterogeneity analysis is carried out based on geographical location characteristics,factor intensive characteristics,enterprise nature characteristics and before and after the impact of the 2008 financial crisis.At the same time,robustness analysis and influence mechanism test are carried out.Finally,this paper proposes relevant policy recommendations to promote the coordinated development between robot imports and labor income share growth.The study found that the robot import significantly increased the labor income share of Chinese listed manufacturing companies during the study period,and the conclusion remained valid after the robustness test.Further heterogeneity analysis shows that in enterprises located in the eastern region,knowledge-intensive enterprises,non-state-owned enterprises and enterprises that imported robots after the 2008 financial crisis,the positive effect of robot import on labor income share is more significant.According to the above conclusions,in order to further increase the share of labor income,the government should take appropriate safeguard measures in the process of importing robots,including improving the overall quality of workers and establishing a complete long-term wage growth mechanism.