Impact of Industrial Robot Application on Labor Spatial Mobility

Impact of Industrial Robot Application on Labor Spatial Mobility | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Impact of Industrial Robot Application on Labor Spatial Mobility Jing Wang, Xiangjie Xie, Deyuan Zeng This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5240397/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract With the widespread adoption of emerging automation technologies replacing manual labor in manufacturing, the question arises: has the advancement of industrial robot technology altered the spatial mobility of labor in China? Drawing on population census data from 2005 to 2015 and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) database, this paper investigates labor mobility patterns at the city level in the context of machine automation, providing a novel perspective on labor mobility in China. The study reveals that the implementation of industrial robots significantly reduces the influx of migrant labor from other regions, with this negative effect primarily affecting medium-skilled workers. A heterogeneity analysis indicates that in cities with extensive industrial robot deployment, high trade openness, and large manufacturing sectors, the negative impact of industrial robots on the migration rate of non-local registered labor is more pronounced. Compared to other regions, the eastern region, as China's primary manufacturing hub, experiences a more substantial negative impact on the overall labor migration rate, while the western and central regions demonstrate positive effects. Further analysis reveals that the implementation of industrial robots, driven by shifts in labor skill demand, accounts for the observed skill heterogeneity in labor migration. Additionally, the deployment of industrial robots suppresses overall labor productivity in cities, thereby hindering the influx of migrant labor. To address the "machine replacement of human" trend driven by industrial robots, the government should adapt to the new technological realities of factor mobility, develop regionally differentiated policies that leverage local comparative advantages, and allocate appropriate social security and public services, such as education and healthcare, to promote the optimal allocation of labor resources, ensuring balance in China's labor market. Business and commerce/Economics Social science/Economics Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5240397","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":380361432,"identity":"c982f9aa-85f5-4320-9abd-41322dd89087","order_by":0,"name":"Jing Wang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgdAgk2Ojb39ALFamA1AWoz5eM4kkKSFIXGehIMBcRrkZyQzPmBs40tvk2BIYPhRsY2wFoMbycwGjG1suW3SjQcYe87cJkKLRP4xCcZtQC0yBxKYGduI0AJ0GPsPoJZ0NokEA+K0MNxIZmMAakkgXovBmcfMEoz/2AzbgIF8kCi/yLcnM35gOHNMXr69/eCDHxXEOAwImP8wHAMzDhCnHgJqSFE8CkbBKBgFIw0AAAzTNd0VLkfeAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai University of Finance and Economics","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jing","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":380361436,"identity":"b3a0779c-9c3c-4aaa-af41-87c3139d1382","order_by":1,"name":"Xiangjie Xie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai University of Finance and Economics","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiangjie","middleName":"","lastName":"Xie","suffix":""},{"id":380361437,"identity":"c1b2ad4e-86c2-4025-90bf-47a7991b84d7","order_by":2,"name":"Deyuan Zeng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai University of Finance and Economics","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Deyuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Zeng","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-10 14:23:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5240397/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5240397/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":78287914,"identity":"429d55c2-4573-4f6a-9edc-a486aa3d2770","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-11 16:31:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":664498,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ImpactofIndustrialRobotApplicationonLaborSpatialMobility.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5240397/v1_covered_54052dd0-1362-4556-92c1-ff6b236b332a.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Impact of Industrial Robot Application on Labor Spatial Mobility","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5240397/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5240397/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWith the widespread adoption of emerging automation technologies replacing manual labor in manufacturing, the question arises: has the advancement of industrial robot technology altered the spatial mobility of labor in China? Drawing on population census data from 2005 to 2015 and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) database, this paper investigates labor mobility patterns at the city level in the context of machine automation, providing a novel perspective on labor mobility in China. The study reveals that the implementation of industrial robots significantly reduces the influx of migrant labor from other regions, with this negative effect primarily affecting medium-skilled workers. A heterogeneity analysis indicates that in cities with extensive industrial robot deployment, high trade openness, and large manufacturing sectors, the negative impact of industrial robots on the migration rate of non-local registered labor is more pronounced. Compared to other regions, the eastern region, as China's primary manufacturing hub, experiences a more substantial negative impact on the overall labor migration rate, while the western and central regions demonstrate positive effects. Further analysis reveals that the implementation of industrial robots, driven by shifts in labor skill demand, accounts for the observed skill heterogeneity in labor migration. Additionally, the deployment of industrial robots suppresses overall labor productivity in cities, thereby hindering the influx of migrant labor. To address the \"machine replacement of human\" trend driven by industrial robots, the government should adapt to the new technological realities of factor mobility, develop regionally differentiated policies that leverage local comparative advantages, and allocate appropriate social security and public services, such as education and healthcare, to promote the optimal allocation of labor resources, ensuring balance in China's labor market.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Impact of Industrial Robot Application on Labor Spatial Mobility","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-12-02 07:50:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5240397/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"3254fbac-2b6d-457a-80e8-e956131c843b","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 2nd, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":40507294,"name":"Business and commerce/Economics"},{"id":40507295,"name":"Social science/Economics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-03-11T16:23:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-12-02 07:50:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5240397","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5240397","identity":"rs-5240397","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}