Robots, Marriageable Men, Family, and Fertility

Abstract

This study examines how the exposure to robots and its heterogeneous effects on the labor market opportunities of men and women affected demographic behavior. We focus on the United States and find that in regions that were more exposed to robots, gender gaps in income and labor force participation declined, reducing the relative economic stature of men. Robot penetration also triggered an increase in both divorce and cohabitation and a decline --albeit non-significant-- in the number of marriages. While there was no change in the overall fertility rate, marital fertility declined, and there was an increase in nonmarital births.