Karen Eggleston

National Bureau of Economic Research, Stanford University

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Karen Eggleston is a leading health economist whose research illuminates the intersection of technology, labor markets, and healthcare delivery, with a particular focus on aging societies. Her most cited work pioneers the study of service sector robotics, using Japanese nursing homes as a critical case. In a landmark 2021 study (22 citations), she provided some of the first establishment-level evidence that robot adoption can *increase* employment by augmenting the nursing workforce, rather than replacing it. Her subsequent 2024 work (8 citations) deepens this analysis, showing that as the share of nursing tasks performed by robots rises, productivity and care quality can improve. These contributions are vital for understanding how automation can address labor shortages in long-term care. Eggleston’s research, often leveraging unique panel data and rigorous causal methods, has shaped policy debates on technology and workforce in healthcare. Her work stands as a cornerstone for scholars and students interested in the economics of innovation, the future of work in services, and the challenges of an aging population.