Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolution
This paper systematically examines how workplace automation impacts energy poverty from a demand-side perspective, revealing a new challenge for Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) in the context of technological revolution. Our research demonstrates that workplace automation significantly increa...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024011186 |
| _version_ | 1797304484125212672 |
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| author | Xiaoru Niu Chao Li Xiang Li Yuhan Zhang |
| author_facet | Xiaoru Niu Chao Li Xiang Li Yuhan Zhang |
| author_sort | Xiaoru Niu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper systematically examines how workplace automation impacts energy poverty from a demand-side perspective, revealing a new challenge for Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) in the context of technological revolution. Our research demonstrates that workplace automation significantly increases household energy poverty. This finding is robust when using the instrumental variable approach to tackle endogeneity, as well as employing different automation and energy poverty measures, placebo tests, and machine learning methods for robustness checks. Automation's impact mechanism is that it reduces people's income and work-related social capital, thus exposing households to higher risks of energy poverty. Moreover, its consequences are more prominent for rural households, less educated people, non-migrants, those without labor contracts, non trade-union members, and out-of-system workers. Thus enhancing human capital, promoting free movement of workers, and providing better labor protection contribute to weakening the adverse impact of the technological shock. Meanwhile, we find that improving the price reasonability, stability, security and accessibility of energy supply can also mitigate the negative effects of workplace automation on household energy consumption. In the dual context of the fourth technological revolution promoting industrial automation as well as the increasing urgency to achieve SDG 7, findings of this paper have important policy implications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f0df93288b1445dabe65e21915f6292 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T00:11:10Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f0df93288b1445dabe65e21915f62922024-02-17T06:39:34ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402024-02-01103e25087Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolutionXiaoru Niu0Chao Li1Xiang Li2Yuhan Zhang3School of Mechanical, Electrical & Information Engineering, Shandong University, 180 Wenhuaxi Road, Weihai, 264209, ChinaBusiness School, Shandong University, 180 Wenhuaxi Road, Weihai, 264209, China; Centre for Quality of Life and Public Policy Research, Shandong University, 72 Binhai Road, Jimo, Qingdao, 266237, China; Corresponding author. Business School, Shandong University, No. 180 Wenhuaxi Road, Weihai, 264209, China.Business School, Shandong University, 180 Wenhuaxi Road, Weihai, 264209, ChinaHSBC Business School, Peking University, University Town, Shenzhen, 518055, ChinaThis paper systematically examines how workplace automation impacts energy poverty from a demand-side perspective, revealing a new challenge for Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) in the context of technological revolution. Our research demonstrates that workplace automation significantly increases household energy poverty. This finding is robust when using the instrumental variable approach to tackle endogeneity, as well as employing different automation and energy poverty measures, placebo tests, and machine learning methods for robustness checks. Automation's impact mechanism is that it reduces people's income and work-related social capital, thus exposing households to higher risks of energy poverty. Moreover, its consequences are more prominent for rural households, less educated people, non-migrants, those without labor contracts, non trade-union members, and out-of-system workers. Thus enhancing human capital, promoting free movement of workers, and providing better labor protection contribute to weakening the adverse impact of the technological shock. Meanwhile, we find that improving the price reasonability, stability, security and accessibility of energy supply can also mitigate the negative effects of workplace automation on household energy consumption. In the dual context of the fourth technological revolution promoting industrial automation as well as the increasing urgency to achieve SDG 7, findings of this paper have important policy implications.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024011186Workplace automationEnergy povertySustainable development goal 7Technological revolutionEnergy consumption |
| spellingShingle | Xiaoru Niu Chao Li Xiang Li Yuhan Zhang Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolution Heliyon Workplace automation Energy poverty Sustainable development goal 7 Technological revolution Energy consumption |
| title | Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolution |
| title_full | Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolution |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolution |
| title_short | Impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty: The new challenge of achieving SDG 7 in the context of technological revolution |
| title_sort | impacts of workplace automation on energy poverty the new challenge of achieving sdg 7 in the context of technological revolution |
| topic | Workplace automation Energy poverty Sustainable development goal 7 Technological revolution Energy consumption |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844024011186 |
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