Social, demographic and health dimensions of technology-induced job loss

Rapid technological progress has the potential to displace an increasing number of occupations. The social, demographic and health dimensions and its consequences are largely unknown and have been given insufficient attention when considering the implications of technology induced job loss. We study this by assessing Norwegian population registries data on occupation and firm data, education, cognitive test performance, personality, coping, health, intergenerational relations, physiological and mental health trajectories. We study how these factors relate to how individuals respond in terms of social and health outcomes, including quality of life, re-employment, disease incidence, training and demographic outcomes (e.g., partnership stability, childbearing). This endeavour can help to better prepare for and identify contexts and policies that mitigate adverse social and health effects of technology induced job loss. We will focus on attaining three major aims: i) How the risk of technology induced displacement differs by age, gender, and individual-level factors ? and how aggregated risk is distributed across regions, households and family constellations. ii) The extent to which factors predicting risk of job loss also predict individual response to and consequences from job loss. iii) How parental job displacement affects health and social outcomes among children. In our studies, we find, among other things, that technology-related risk of job loss is associated with an increased likelihood of disability pension and higher mortality

-

Continuing rapid technological progress in IT, automation and robotics has the potential to displace workers in an increasing number of occupations and skill categories in the coming decades. This project aims to assess: a) How this risk is distributed across regions, households and family constellations. b) How the risk at the individual level differs by gender, immigrant status, and individual-level factors such as education, cognitive ability, and personality. c) The extent to which these same factors predict how individuals respond to and are impacted by job loss in the shorter and longer term. d) How parental job displacement affects social and health outcomes among children. An improved knowledge base on these issues is important for developing policies to manage labor market risks and mitigate their social implications. The project is empirical, multidisciplinary, policy oriented, and focuses explicitly on aspects related to ethnic diversity, gender, and generations. Most existing research has focused on the relevance of technology induced job loss to formal skills and income, while social, demographic and health dimensions have been given less attention. Our study, which will be based on Norwegian linked population level health registries and surveys has occupational histories and firm dynamics (including plant closures). It also includes data on education, test performance (IQ), personality, coping abilities, health risk behaviours, social isolation, physiological and mental health (from primary and specialist health care data). We will study how these factors affect individuals in the wake of job loss in terms of disease outcomes, quality of life, re-employment, internal migration, training and demographic outcomes (including partnership stability, childbearing, migration). Our analyses will emphasize intergenerational effects of technology induced job loss, where children’s outcomes will be assessed.