Sebastian Findeisen

University of Konstanz, University of Mannheim

Papers

Total Citations

676

H-Index

About

Sebastian Findeisen is a prominent labor economist whose research has made significant contributions to our understanding of how technological change—particularly industrial automation—reshapes labor markets. His work focuses primarily on the economics of robotics and employment, using rich administrative data to trace the effects of automation on workers, industries, and local economies in Germany. Findeisen's most influential contribution, "The Adjustment of Labor Markets to Robots" (2021), has accumulated over 500 citations and provides compelling evidence that while industrial robots displace manufacturing workers, these losses are fully offset by job creation in the service sector—a finding with major implications for automation policy debates worldwide. His earlier companion studies, including "Adjusting to Robots: Worker-Level Evidence" (2018, 117 citations) and "German Robots" (2017, 53 citations), established a rigorous methodological foundation for this research agenda, employing shift-share instrumental variable approaches to isolate causal effects of robot adoption on wages, employment, and job composition. Collectively, Findeisen's research challenges alarmist narratives about automation-driven unemployment, demonstrating instead that labor markets adapt dynamically to technological disruption. His work is essential reading for scholars and policymakers grappling with the future of work in an increasingly automated economy.