Long-run effects of technological change: the impact of automation on intergenerational mobility

We examine how automation affects intergenerational income mobility. Using Swedish register data for parents and children from 1985–2019, we study how parental exposure to robots during the 1990s shaped children’s outcomes up to thirty years later. Combining occupational exposure measures with industry- and firm-level robot adoption, we find that automation reduced children’s income and upward mobility and worsened long-run labour market and educational outcomes. These effects are concentrated among low-income families and appear driven primarily by adverse parental labour market shocks and financial strain. Our findings suggest that technological change can reduce intergenerational mobility and increase long-run inequality.