Abstract
With the 4th Industrial Revolution ahead there is huge uncertainty about the likely labour market impacts ranging from massive layoffs as a response to Automation and AI to the view that overall more jobs will be created than lost. Whatever the outcome in the end, there will be major structural change with substantial implications for individual labour income risk. We argue that precautionary savings are an ineffective protection against labour market risk arising from major technological shifts and discuss four policy instruments, 1) a private insurance scheme, 2) a universal basic income, 3) a robot tax, and 4) a governmental insurance scheme. Further, we examine whether these policy instruments are suitable to achieve high and inclusive growth.
Andreas Schaefer & Maik T. Schneider, 2024. "Public Policy Responses to AI," Graz Economics Papers 2024-06, University of Graz, Department of Economics.