Arbeitspapier

Robotizing to Compete? Firm-level Evidence

We investigate the impact of product market competition on firms' automation investments. We use a rich combination of micro-data on Portuguese exporters and exploit a novel source of variation in the degree of competition they face – a tariff liberalization between the European Union and Central and Eastern European countries in the 1990s. We find that firms facing greater competition in export markets tend to reduce investments in automation technologies. These average negative effects are driven by the least productive firms, while the most efficient exporters in industries that are more prone to automation tend to robotize in order to compete. These findings suggest that an increase in the degree of product market competition widens disparities between firms.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: Discussion Paper ; No. 467

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
Trade and Labor Market Interactions
Labor Demand
Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
Thema
automation
product market competition
firm heterogeneity
trade liberalization
workers
multi-product firms

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Bastos, Paulo
Flach, Lisandra
Keller, Klaus
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition
(wo)
München und Berlin
(wann)
2023

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:43 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Bastos, Paulo
  • Flach, Lisandra
  • Keller, Klaus
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition

Entstanden

  • 2023

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