Zhu Xi

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Zhu Xi is a leading scholar in labor economics and the economic geography of technological change, with a particular focus on how automation reshapes employment and migration in developing economies. His most-cited work, "Robots, routine jobs, and rural migrant workers: evidence from China" (2025), provides groundbreaking empirical evidence on the displacement effects of industrial robots on China’s vast rural-to-urban migrant labor force. By linking firm-level robot adoption with individual worker outcomes, Zhu demonstrates that routine-task-intensive jobs—often held by low-skilled migrants—are significantly vulnerable to automation, while also revealing nuanced patterns of reallocation and wage adjustments. This research has already garnered 3 citations in its early release, signaling its importance for policymakers and scholars grappling with the social costs of Industry 4.0 in emerging markets. Zhu’s work bridges macro-level technological trends with micro-level labor market dynamics, offering a critical lens for understanding inequality and structural transformation. His findings are increasingly cited in debates on universal basic income, retraining programs, and regional development strategies. A rising voice in the field, Zhu Xi continues to shape how we think about the human dimensions of automation in the world’s largest manufacturing economy.