Balancing Structural Transformation and Income Distribution in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Robots,as critical tools for achieving digital and intelligent industrial production,serve as essential components in de-veloping a modem industrial framework to foster widespread prosperity.By developing a dual-sector static general equilibrium model,this study elucidates the theoretical underpinnings and through numerical simulations,examines the effects of robotic inte-gration on the transformation of industrial structures and the distribution of factor incomes under two distinct scenarios.It reveals that when the elasticity of consumption substitution between industrial and service goods is low,and the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor is high in industrial production but low in services,the adoption of robots favors the reshaping of indus-trial dynamics and enhances the proportion of labor income,thereby contributing to broader prosperity.An analysis of provincial panel data from 2006 to 2017 demonstrates that in China,the implementation of robotics has indeed facilitated a service-oriented shift within the industrial sector at the current stage,albeit at the expense of labor income's share,thus failing to effectively sup-port the goal of shared prosperity.This finding remains consistent even after conducting robustness checks.Further analysis high-lights both temporal and regional variations in how robotic integration impacts the evolution of industrial structures and the share of labor income.Moreover,tests on moderating effects indicate that the development of human capital,the optimization of the serv-ice sector's structure,enhanced innovation capabilities,and the establishment of a favorable institutional framework are conducive to realizing the dual objectives of fostering a service-oriented industrial transformation and increasing the share of labor income.
Robot ApplicationIndustrial Structure TransformationFactor Income DistributionCommon ProsperityEconomic Growth
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
