Automation and inequality: does a relation exist?

Using a sample of 33 European countries in the period 2000-2016, this paper analyses the relationship between economic inequality, measured by the Gini index, and the automation level, evaluated according to the number of robots per 10,000 workers. Using a panel data approach, the conclusion is that higher levels of automation lead to a reduction in inequality in the medium term. The explanation for this phenomenon can be found in the fact that automation increases wealth in the country, which can be used by governments to reduce inequality through redistributive policies. Because of the limitations of this paper, which does not include many effects relevant to explaining inequality, this result should be considered only as a starting point for further research. However, it does give us an indication that the relationship between inequality and the level of automation is far from obvious.