Robots, Labor Market Frictions, and Corporate Financial Policies

Abstract

Using a novel dataset from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), I find that robots can transform the labor market landscape and mitigate the impact of labor market frictions on financial policy decisions. Firms with more robots, which reduce labor adjustment costs and operational risk, have higher financial leverage and hold less cash. Such firms rely less on employees and attach less importance to gaining bargaining advantages over unions. The effects of robots on corporate financial policies are stronger for firms with more blue-collar workers. When facing greater foreign competition, firms with more robots are able to adopt less conservative financial policies. The effects of minimum wage increases on corporate financial policies are weaker for firms with more robots.