Research for Equity in Recovery: Does COVID-19 Accelerate Automation?

The fifth and final event in the Research for Equity in Recovery Series featured panelists David H. Autor, Ford Professor of Economics, MIT, Lei Ding, Senior Economic Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and Anne Gemmell, Founder, Future Works Strategy. Penn IUR Co-Director Susan Wachter moderated.

Autor began by sharing data in four areas that suggest what trends may stay after the pandemic, including the likely change in demand for many services, reduced centrality of cities for “knowledge” work, re-allocation of sales from small business to large firms that will widen wage gaps, and more pressure on low-wage industries due to a slack job market. Ding discussed new research that found the pandemic likely accelerated automation by exposing more automate-able jobs, mostly held by minority workers, and elevated their risk of being permanently automated. Gemmell talked about pillars of future-proofing: innovation, education, land use, and talent. She noted the promising strategies are underway in each of these areas and stressed the importance of each working together to co-design the future.

Full recordings and recaps of each event can be found here.