Attitudes toward Automation and the Demand for Policies Addressing Job Loss: the Effects of Information about Trade-Offs

Abstract

Does providing information about the costs and benefits of automation affect support for automation and for different policies in response? To answer this question, we use a combination of survey and conjoint experiments across four advanced economies (Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US). Our results show that despite people’s relatively fixed policy preferences, their evaluation of automation—and therefore potentially the issue’s political salience—is sensitive to information about its trade-offs, especially to price changes. This suggests that automation may have different political consequences depending on how it is framed by the media and political actors.