Automation is fueling increasing mortality among U.S. adults, study
finds
Date:
February 24, 2022
Source:
Yale University
Summary:
The automation of U.S. manufacturing -- robots replacing people on
factory floors -- is fueling rising mortality rate among America's
working-age adults, according to a new study.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The automation of U.S. manufacturing -- robots replacing people on
factory floors -- is fueling rising mortality rate among America's
working-age adults, according to a new study by researchers at Yale and
the University of Pennsylvania.
==========================================================================
The study, published Feb. 23 in the journalDemography,found evidence
of a causal link between automation and increasing mortality, driven
largely by increased "deaths of despair," such as suicides and drug
overdoses. This is particularly true for males and females aged 45 to 54, according to the study.
But researchers also found evidence of increased mortality across multiple
age and sex groups from causes as varied as cancer and heart disease.
Public policy, including strong social-safety net programs, higher
minimum wages, and limiting the supply of prescription opioids, can blunt automation's effects on a community's health, the researchers concluded.
"For decades, manufacturers in the United States have turned to automation
to remain competitive in a global marketplace, but this technological innovation has reduced the number of quality jobs available to adults
without a college degree -- a group that has faced increased mortality
in recent years," said lead author Rourke O'Brien, assistant professor
of sociology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "Our analysis shows
that automation exacts a toll on the health of individuals both directly
-- by reducing employment, wages, and access to healthcare -- as well as indirectly, by reducing the economic vitality of the broader community."
Since 1980, mortality rates in the United States have diverged from
those in other high-income countries. Today, Americans on average die
three years sooner than their counterparts in other wealthy nations.
Automation is a major source of the decline of U.S. manufacturing jobs
along with other factors, including competition with manufacturers in
countries with lower labor costs, such as China and Mexico . Previous
research has shown that the adoption of industrial robots caused the
loss of an estimated 420,000 to 750,000 jobs during the 1990s and 2000s,
the majority of which were in manufacturing.
To understand the role of automation on increased mortality, O'Brien and
co- authors Elizabeth F. Blair and Atheendar Venkataramani, both of the University of Pennsylvania, used newly available measures that chart the adoption of automation across U.S. industries and localities between 1993
and 2007. They combined these measures with U.S. death-certificate data
over the same time period to estimate the causal effect of automation on
the mortality of working age adults at the county level and for specific
types of deaths.
According to the study, each new robot per 1,000 workers led to about
eight additional deaths per 100,000 males aged 45 to 54 and nearly four additional deaths per 100,000 females in the same age group. The analysis showed that automation caused a substantial increase in suicides among middle-aged men and drug overdose deaths among men of all ages and women
aged 20 to 29. Overall, automation could be linked to 12% of the increase
in drug overdose mortality among all working-age adults during the study period. The researchers also discovered evidence associating the lost
jobs and reduced wages caused by automation with increased homicide,
cancer, and cardiovascular disease within specific age-sex groups.
The researchers examined policy areas that could mitigate automation's
harmful effects. They found that robust social safety net programs,
such as Medicaid and unemployment benefits, at the state level moderated
the effects of automation among middle-aged males, particularly suicide
and drug overdose deaths. Labor market policies also soften automation's effects on middle-aged men: The effects of automation were more pronounced
in states with "right to work" laws, which contribute to lower rates of unionization, and states with lower minimum wages, according to the study.
The study found suggestive evidence that the effect of automation on
drug overdose deaths might be higher in areas with higher per capita
supplies of prescription opioids.
"Our findings underscore the importance of public policy in supporting the individuals and communities who have lost their jobs or seen their wages
cut due to automation," said Venkatarmani, co-author of the study. "A
strong social safety net and labor market policies that improve the
quality of jobs available to workers without a college degree may help
reduce deaths of despair and strengthen the general health of communities, particularly those in our nation's industrial heartland." The study's
authors are members of Opportunity for Health, a research group that
explores how economic opportunity affects the health of individuals
and communities. The study was supported by the U.S. Social Security Administration.
special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Yale_University. Original written
by Mike Cummings. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Rourke O'Brien, Elizabeth F. Bair, Atheendar S. Venkataramani. Death
by
Robots? Automation and Working-Age Mortality in the United States.
Demography, 2022; DOI: 10.1215/00703370-9774819 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220223172600.htm
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