Melanie Arntz

Papers

Total Citations

554

H-Index

About

Melanie Arntz is a prominent labor economist whose research sits at the intersection of technological change, automation, and the future of work. She is best known for her influential 2017 paper "Revisiting the Risk of Automation," which has accumulated over 530 citations and stands as a landmark contribution to the debate on how digitalization reshapes labor markets. In that work, Arntz and her co-authors challenged earlier, more alarming estimates of job displacement by demonstrating that automation risk is better assessed at the level of specific tasks within occupations rather than entire job categories — a methodological refinement that significantly tempered predictions of widespread unemployment. Beyond this seminal contribution, Arntz has consistently engaged with the broader societal implications of digitalization, examining whether technological transformation leads to prosperity or exacerbates inequality and job loss — questions she tackles in both academic and policy-oriented German-language publications. Her work in "Arbeitswelt 4.0" reflects her commitment to bridging rigorous empirical analysis with urgent public debate. Through her research, Arntz has helped equip policymakers, scholars, and students with a more nuanced understanding of how societies can navigate the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly automated economy.