Wolfgang Dauth

Papers

Total Citations

676

H-Index

About

Wolfgang Dauth is a prominent labor economist whose research sits at the intersection of technological change, automation, and labor market adjustment. Best known for his pioneering work on the economic consequences of industrial robots, Dauth has made significant contributions to our understanding of how automation reshapes employment, wages, and occupational structures — particularly within the German context. His most influential work, "The Adjustment of Labor Markets to Robots" (2021), has accumulated over 500 citations and offers a nuanced finding that challenges widespread fears about automation-driven unemployment: while robots displace manufacturing workers, these losses are fully offset by job creation in the service sector. This research, alongside companion studies from 2017 and 2018, employs sophisticated shift-share methodologies and rich administrative data to trace automation's effects from the local labor market down to the individual worker level. Collectively, Dauth's body of work has fundamentally informed policy debates about technological displacement, demonstrating that automation's consequences are more complex and sector-specific than simple job-destruction narratives suggest. His research is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how advanced economies navigate the transition to increasingly automated production systems.