Details back to publication list
Automation and income inequality in Europe
2026
Abstract: We study the effects of robot penetration on household income inequality in 14 European countries between 2006–2018, a period marked by the rapid adoption of industrial robots. Automation reduced relative hourly wages and employment of more exposed demographic groups, similarly to the results for the United States. Using robot-driven wage and employment shocks as input to the EUROMOD microsimulation model, we find that automation had minor effects on income inequality. Household labour income diversification and tax and welfare policies largely absorbed labour market shocks caused by automation. Transfers played a key role in cushioning the transmission of these shocks to household incomes.
| Type: | Journal article |
| Theme(s): | Wages and employment Income inequality: measures, trends and drivers |
| Keywords: | automation, income inequality, microsimulation, robots, wage inequality |
| JEL Classification: | J23, J24, O33 |
| 10.1177/00197939261498019 |
Reference
Doorley, K., Gromadzki, J., Lewandowski, P., Tuda, D. & Van Kerm, P. (2026), 'Automation and income inequality in Europe', Industrial and Labour Relations Review.
@ARTICLE{pvk-2002,
Author = {Doorley, Karina and Gromadzki, Jan and Lewandowski, Piotr and Tuda, Dora and Van Kerm, Philippe},
Title = {Automation and income inequality in {E}urope},
Journal = {Industrial and Labour Relations Review},
Year = {2026},
Note = {Accepted}
}Download links
Permanent link and QR code
Other versions
Doorley, K., Gromadzki, J., Lewandowski, P., Tuda, D. & Van Kerm, P. (2023), 'Automation and income inequality in Europe', IZA Discussion Paper 16499, IZA Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, Germany.
Doorley, K., Gromadzki, J., Lewandowski, P., Tuda, D. & Van Kerm, P. (2023), 'Automation and income inequality in Europe', IBS Working Papers 06/2023, Instytut Badań Strukturalnych (Institute for Structural Research), Warsaw, Poland.
Dataset(s) used in the paper
Other papers using the same datasets...
D'Aguanno, M.C., Guio, A.-C. & Van Kerm, P. (2026), 'Working, yet poor: The dynamics behind Europe’s in-work poverty rate', LISER Policy Brief 2026-21, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research.
Jacquemin, A., Heuchenne, C. & Van Kerm, P. (2026), 'Lorenz regression analysis of inequality of opportunity and explained inequality', ECINEQ Working Papers 699, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, Italy.
D'Aguanno, M.C., Guio, A.-C. & Van Kerm, P. (2026), 'Cross-country evidence on the individual dynamics of in-work poverty in the EU', Economic Systems, 50(2), 101360.
Sohst, R.R., Fusco, A. & Van Kerm, P. (2024), 'Foreign-born households’ contribution to inequality and polarization in European income distributions', LISER Working Paper 2024-06, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg.
Sologon, D.M., Van Kerm, P., Li, J. & O'Donoghue, C. (2021), 'Accounting for differences in income inequality across countries: tax-benefit policy, labour market structure, returns and demographics', Journal of Economic Inequality, 19, 13-43.
Fusco, A., Sohst, R.R. & Van Kerm, P. (2021), 'Foreign-born households in the income distribution and their contribution to social indicators in European countries', in A.-C. Guio, E. Marlier & B. Nolan, Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Ch.5, pp.87-102.
Fusco, A., Gallo, G. & Van Kerm, P. (2021), 'Rotation Group Bias in the Estimation of EU Social Indicators', in A.-C. Guio, E. Marlier & B. Nolan, Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Ch.17, pp.295-312.
Sologon, D.M., Almeida, V. & Van Kerm, P. (2019), 'Accounting for the distributional effects of the 2007-2008 crisis and the Economic Adjustment Program in Portugal', LISER Working Paper 2019-05, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg.
Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2017), 'How does attrition affect estimates of persistent poverty rates? The case of EU-SILC', in A.B. Atkinson, A.-C. Guio & E. Marlier, Monitoring Social Inclusion in Europe, Eurostat, European Commission, Luxembourg, Ch.22, pp.402-417.
Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2014), 'The Relationship between EU Indicators of Persistent and Current Poverty', Social Indicators Research, 116(2), 611-638.
Van Kerm, P. & Pi Alperin, M.N. (2013), 'Inequality, growth and mobility: The intertemporal distribution of income in European countries 2003--2007', Economic Modelling, 35(C), 931-939.
Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2011), 'Patterns of persistent poverty: evidence from EU-SILC', ISER Working Paper 2011-30, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
Van Kerm, P. (2007), 'Extreme incomes and the estimation of poverty and inequality indicators from EU-SILC', IRISS Working Paper 2007-01, CEPS/INSTEAD, Differdange, Luxembourg.
Van Kerm, P. (2007), 'Extreme incomes and the estimation of poverty and inequality indicators from EU-SILC', in Comparative EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions: Issues and Challenges, Proceedings of the EU-SILC Conference, Helsinki, 6-8 November 2006, Eurostat, European Commission, Luxembourg, pp.83-94.
Other papers on the same theme(s)
Bargain, O., Doorley, K. & Van Kerm, P. (2019), 'Minimum Wages and the Gender Gap in Pay: New Evidence from the United Kingdom and Ireland', Review of Income and Wealth, 65(3), 514-539.
Sologon, D.M. & Van Kerm, P. (2018), 'Modelling earnings dynamics and inequality: foreign workers and inequality trends in Luxembourg, 1988--2009', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Series A: Statistics in Society), 181(2), 409-440.
Choe, C. & Van Kerm, P. (2018), 'Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: What Does the Influence Function Reveal?', Econometrics, 6(3), 1-26.
Van Kerm, P., Choe, C. & Yu, S. (2016), 'Decomposing quantile wage gaps: a conditional likelihood approach', Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (Series C: Applied Statistics), 65(4), 507-527.
Selezneva, E. & Van Kerm, P. (2016), 'A distribution-sensitive examination of the gender wage gap in Germany', Journal of Economic Inequality, 14(1), 21-40.
Van Lancker, W., Marchal, S., Schuerman, N., Van Mechelen, N. & Van Kerm, P. (2015), 'Les répercussions du chômage sur les revenus en Belgique dans une perspective comparative', in I. Pannecoucke, W. Lahaye, J. Vranken & R. Van Rossem, Pauvreté en Belgique: Annuaire 2015, Academia Press, Gent, Belgium.
Brosius, J. & Van Kerm, P. (2014), 'Les inégalités de salaire', in E. Marlier, J. Brosius, V. Dautel, A. Decoville, F. Durand, P. Gerber & A.-C. Guio, Cohésion sociale et territoriale au Luxembourg, Regards croisés, Peter Lang, Brussels.
Van Kerm, P. (2013), 'Generalized measures of wage differentials', Empirical Economics, 45(1), 465-482.
Hildebrand, V.A. & Van Kerm, P. (2010), 'Body size and wages in Europe: A semi-parametric analysis', CEPS/INSTEAD Working Paper 2010-09, CEPS/INSTEAD, Differdange, Luxembourg.
Yu, K., Van Kerm, P. & Zhang, J. (2005), 'Bayesian quantile regression: An application to the wage distribution in 1990s Britain', Sankhya (The Indian Journal of Statistics), 67, 359-377.
Sauer, P., Van Kerm, P. & Checchi, D. (2025), 'Higher Education Expansion and Labour Income Inequality in High-income Countries: A Gender-specific Perspective', Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper 837, LIS Cross-National Data Center, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg.
Sohst, R.R., Fusco, A. & Van Kerm, P. (2024), 'Foreign-born households’ contribution to inequality and polarization in European income distributions', LISER Working Paper 2024-06, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg.
Muller, A., Peluso, E., Van Kerm, P. & Laborderie, V. (2023), 'Inégalité et pauvreté', D'Lëtzebuerger Land.
Kyzyma, I., Fusco, A. & Van Kerm, P. (2022), 'Distributional Change: Assessing the Contribution of Household Income Sources', Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 84(1), 158-184.
Lisina, A. & Van Kerm, P. (2022), 'Understanding Twenty Years of Inequality and Poverty Trends in Russia', Review of Income and Wealth, 68(S1), 108-130.
Sologon, D.M., Van Kerm, P., Li, J. & O'Donoghue, C. (2021), 'Accounting for differences in income inequality across countries: tax-benefit policy, labour market structure, returns and demographics', Journal of Economic Inequality, 19, 13-43.
Nolan, B., Palomino, J.C., Van Kerm, P. & Morelli, S. (2021), 'Intergenerational wealth transfers and wealth inequality in rich countries: What do we learn from Gini decomposition?', Economics Letters, 199, 10970.
Sauer, P. & Van Kerm, P. (2021), 'Higher Education Expansion and Inequality in Labour Incomes: The Importance of a Gendered Perspective', Inequality Matters 18, LIS Cross-National Data Center, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg.
Fusco, A., Sohst, R.R. & Van Kerm, P. (2021), 'Foreign-born households in the income distribution and their contribution to social indicators in European countries', in A.-C. Guio, E. Marlier & B. Nolan, Improving the understanding of poverty and social exclusion in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, Ch.5, pp.87-102.
Nolan, B., Palomino, J.C., Van Kerm, P. & Morelli, S. (2020), 'The intergenerational transmission of wealth in rich countries', VoxEU 19 September 2020, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, UK.
Chauvel, L., Hartung, A., Bar-Haim, E. & Van Kerm, P. (2019), 'Income and Wealth Above the Median: New Measurements and Results for Europe and the United States', in K. Decancq & P. Van Kerm, What Drives Inequality?, Research on Economic Inequality27, Emerald Publishing Ltd, Bingley, pp.89-104.
Decancq, K. & Van Kerm, P. (2019), 'What Drives Inequality?', Research on Economic Inequality27, Emerald Publishing Ltd, Bingley, UK.
Sologon, D.M., Almeida, V. & Van Kerm, P. (2019), 'Accounting for the distributional effects of the 2007-2008 crisis and the Economic Adjustment Program in Portugal', LISER Working Paper 2019-05, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research, Esch/Alzette, Luxembourg.
Nolan, B., Morelli, S. & Van Kerm, P. (2018), 'Wealth Inequality', in B. Nolan, Generating Prosperity for Working Families in Affluent Countries, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, Ch.12, pp.312-334.
Choe, C. & Van Kerm, P. (2018), 'Foreign Workers and the Wage Distribution: What Does the Influence Function Reveal?', Econometrics, 6(3), 1-26.
Cowell, F.A., Nolan, B., Olivera, J. & Van Kerm, P. (2017), 'Wealth, Top Incomes, and Inequality', in K. Hamilton & C. Hepburn, National Wealth: What is Missing, Why it Matters, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, Ch.8, pp.175-203.
Jäntti, M., Sierminska, E.M. & Van Kerm, P. (2015), 'Modeling the Joint Distribution of Income and Wealth', in T. Garner & K. Short, Measurement of Poverty, Deprivation, and Economic Mobility, Research on Economic Inequality23, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.301-327.
Fusco, A., Van Kerm, P., Alieva, A., Bellani, L., Etienne-Robert, F., Guio, A.-C., Kyzyma, I., Leduc, K., Liégeois, P., Pi Alperin, M.N., Reinstadler, A., Sierminska, E.M., Sologon, D.M., Thill, P., Valentova, M. & Voicu, B. (2014), 'Luxembourg: Has inequality grown enough to matter?', in B. Nolan, W. Salverda, D. Checchi, I. Marx, A. McKnight, I. Tòth & H. van de Werfhorst, Changing Inequalities and Societal Impacts in Rich Countries: Thirty Countries' Experiences, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, Ch.19, pp.437-458.
Van Kerm, P. (2014), 'Book Review of The Great Recession and the Distribution of Household Income', Journal of Economic Inequality, 12(4), 597-600.
Van Kerm, P. & Pi Alperin, M.N. (2013), 'Inequality, growth and mobility: The intertemporal distribution of income in European countries 2003--2007', Economic Modelling, 35(C), 931-939.
Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2009), 'The measurement of economic inequality', in W. Salverda, B. Nolan & T.M. Smeeding, Oxford Handbook on Economic Inequality, Oxford University Press, Ch.3, pp.40-67.
Hildebrand, V.A. & Van Kerm, P. (2009), 'Income inequality and self-reported health status: Evidence from the European Community Household Panel survey', Demography, 46(4), 805-825.
Fusco, A. & Van Kerm, P. (2008), 'La progression du niveau de vie entre 2003 et 2006', Vivre au Luxembourg -- Chroniques de l'enquête PSELL-3 48, CEPS/INSTEAD, Differdange, Luxembourg.
O'Neill, D. & Van Kerm, P. (2008), 'An Integrated Framework For Analysing Income Convergence', The Manchester School, 76(1), 1-20.
Van Kerm, P. (2007), 'Extreme incomes and the estimation of poverty and inequality indicators from EU-SILC', IRISS Working Paper 2007-01, CEPS/INSTEAD, Differdange, Luxembourg.
Van Kerm, P. (2007), 'Extreme incomes and the estimation of poverty and inequality indicators from EU-SILC', in Comparative EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions: Issues and Challenges, Proceedings of the EU-SILC Conference, Helsinki, 6-8 November 2006, Eurostat, European Commission, Luxembourg, pp.83-94.
Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2006), 'Trends in income inequality, pro-poor income growth and income mobility', Oxford Economic Papers, 58(3), 531-548.
Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (2005), 'Accounting for income distribution trends: A density function decomposition approach', Journal of Economic Inequality, 3, 43-61.
Gevers, L. & Van Kerm, P. (2000), 'Evolution récente de la dispersion des revenus et de la pauvreté en Belgique. Que nous apprennent les bases de données socio-économiques fédérales?', in B. Jurion & P. Pestieau, Finances publiques, finances privées, Les Editions de l'Université de Liège, Belgium, pp.59-74.
Jenkins, S.P. & Van Kerm, P. (1999), 'Generalized Lorenz curves and related graphs', Stata Technical Bulletin, 48, 25-29.