The Non-linear Relationship between Automated Capital Biased Technical Change and Employment

Based on data of the listed manufacturing companies from 2012 to 2019, this paper theoretically analyzes and empirically tests the impact and internal mechanism of automated capital-biased technical change on the total employment and structure. The research found: (1) There is a U-shaped non-linear relationship between the automated capital-biased technical change and total employment, and the impact of the technical change on the employment of high- and low-skilled labor is inverted U-shape and U-shape respectively. (2) Enterprise productivity and output scale play a non-linear effect on the impact of automated capital-biased technical change on the total employment and labor skill structure. For the sample in this paper, automated capital-biased technical change has produced a creative effect on the employment of high-skilled labor through the productivity improvement effect and the scale reduction effect, while which reduce total employment and the low-skilled labor force. Therefore, improving the skill level of low-skilled labor, vigorously cultivating high-skilled labor, strengthening the skill matching of automation capital-biased technical change with labor force, and exploring in-depth the positive role of productivity and scale effects for development of automation technology are important measures to achieve stable employment and promote high-quality employment.