Are robots in rich countries a threat for employment in emerging economies?

The effects of robotization on labor market outcomes have been widely investigated within developed countries. Conversely, few studies have tried to assess how automation in advanced economies affects less industrialized countries. In this work, we analyze the impact of robotization in a group of developed European countries (EU15) on employment dynamics in a country-industry panel data of emerging markets. Our findings indicate that EU15 robotization is associated with a decline of sectoral employment in emerging economies, especially in Asia, tradable and more robotized industries. Ultimately, a small set of major European countries – namely, Germany, Italy, Denmark and United Kingdom – seems to guide the overall phenomenon.