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Straits Times (Singapore):
Producitivity is not just a numbers game

8 June 2016

Intuitively, automation would lead to higher labour productivity. For instance, with labour-assisting technology such as autonomous drone waiters by local firms, we would expect a fall in the number of waiters serving the same number of customers. A 2015 study by Graetz and Michaels further provides empirical evidence from 14 industries in 17 developed countries that industrial robots do increase labour productivity. Using data from the International Federation of Robotics, it is shown that using robots within manufacturing accounted for 16 per cent of its labour productivity growth between 1993 and 2007.

This article was published online by the Straits Times (Singapore) on June 8, 2016
Link to article here

Related publications
Robots at work: the impact on productivity and jobs, Georg Graetz and Guy Michaels. Article in CentrePiece, Volume 20, Issue 1 Summer 2015
Robots at Work, Georg Graetz and Guy Michaels, Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No.1335, March 2015

Related Links
Georg Graetz webpage
Guy Michaels webpage
Labour Markets Programme webpage

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