Andy Sumner

The King's College, King's College London

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Andy Sumner is a development economist whose research sits at the intersection of technological change, structural transformation, and economic development in the Global South. He has made significant contributions to understanding how automation and robotics are reshaping labor markets and wage dynamics in developing countries. His most influential work, "The Rise of the Robot Reserve Army" (2018), which has garnered 49 citations, examines how increasing automation may fundamentally alter the future of work and economic development, drawing on Marxian concepts to frame technological unemployment as a systemic challenge for emerging economies. Building on this foundation, his 2020 paper on automation and structural transformation offers a nuanced theoretical model likening automation-driven labor displacement to the classical Lewis dual-economy framework, arguing that artificial intelligence and robotics are bifurcating labor markets into automation-resistant and automation-susceptible sectors. Together, these works position Sumner as a leading voice in debates about whether technological progress will undermine or redirect traditional development pathways. His research carries important policy implications for policymakers in developing nations navigating the twin pressures of industrialization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.