Robotization and Economic Development

This book critically examines the sweeping impacts of robotization and the use of artificial intelligence on employment, per capita income, quality of life, poverty, and inequality in developing and developed economies. It analyzes the direct and indirect effects they have had and are projected to have on the labour markets and production processes in the manufacturing, healthcare and agricultural industries among others. The author explores comparisons of human labour with robotic labour emphasizing the changes that new technologies will bring to traditionally labour-intensive industries. Offering various insights into the effectiveness, benefits and negative implications of robotization on the economy, the book provides a comprehensive picture for policymakers to implement changes that embrace new technologies while meeting employment needs and development goals. Topical and lucid, this book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of science and technology studies, digital humanities, economics, labour studies, public policy, development studies, political studies and sociology as well as policymakers and others who are interested in these areas.

Preface and Acknowledgements 1 An Overview 2 Robots and their Economic Significance 3 The impact of Robotization on Production Processes and its Rudimentary Economic Implications 4 Machine Learning and the Economy 5 Robotization, the Economy and the Labour Market: A Look at Theoretical and Empirical Studies 6 Managing the AI Revolution through Policy: A Nuts-and-Bolts Approach 7 The Immediate Future in the Light of Covid and the Bottom Line Index

Siddhartha Mitra is Professor of Economics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.