Labor shortage and early robotization in Japan
利用1978-1991年日本行业层面数据，发现非熟练工厂工人短缺显著促进机器人采用，而熟练工人短缺则起抑制作用，表明熟练劳动力在自动化中具有互补作用。
In this paper, we study how labor shortage contributed to the rise of robots in the early stage of robotization in Japan from 1978 to 1991. Based on the newly digitalized industry-level data on labor shortage, we demonstrate that the shortage of unskilled factory workers is strongly positively associated with subsequent robot adoption. We also find the effect of the shortage of skilled factory workers on robot adoption to be negative, suggesting a potentially complementary role of skilled labor in the process of automation.