Intelligent manufacturing and enterprise labor income share

Intelligent manufacturing has profound implications for the distribution of economic gains. Using panel data from China’s A-share manufacturing firms from 2010 to 2020, this study exploits the IM Pilot Demonstration Project as a quasi-natural experiment to identify its causal effects. The findings demonstrate that IM significantly increases the labor income share, with stronger effects observed in eastern regions, large cities, and firms operating in favorable market environments or exhibiting higher levels of digitalization. The complementarity effect between intelligent technologies and labor is especially pronounced in labor-intensive and non–high-tech industries. Mechanism analysis shows three driving channels: expanded production scale, optimization of firms’ human capital, and improvements in corporate ESG performance. Additional analysis indicates that IM also promotes firms’ total factor productivity, albeit with a notable time lag. Overall, this study offers valuable insights for policymakers seeking to navigate the distributional consequences of technological change.