Robots and Mitigation of the Risk of Covid-19 Contagion in the Workplace: Some Evidence From Italy

When SARS-CoV-2 spread across the world, national authorities implemented novel and drastic measures to curb transmission: social distancing was introduced to preserve public health and slow down the spread of Covid-19, while in the workplace many economic activities were temporarility discontinued. Robotization appears to present a potential trade-off between safety and employment in the workplace, but observers are concerned that it could create incentives to replace labour. Mauro Caselli, Andrea Fracasso and Silvio Traverso (EconPol Europe, Università di Trento) examine the issues facing policy makers in their task of designing a pandemic-proof economy.