Job creation or disruption? Unraveling the effects of smart city construction on corporate employment in China

Cao, Y; Hu, Y; Liu, Q; Lu, M; Shan, Y

Job creation or disruption? Unraveling the effects of smart city construction on corporate employment in China

Cao, Y Hu, Y Liu, Q Lu, M Shan, Y

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Publisher:: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2023, 195
Issue Date:: 2023-10-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Cao, Y
dc.contributor.author	Hu, Y
dc.contributor.author	Liu, Q
dc.contributor.author	Lu, M
dc.contributor.author	Shan, Y https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2156-8722
dc.date.accessioned	2024-03-06T05:03:25Z
dc.date.available	2024-03-06T05:03:25Z
dc.date.issued	2023-10-01
dc.identifier.citation	Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2023, 195
dc.identifier.issn	0040-1625
dc.identifier.issn	1873-5509
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176199
dc.description.abstract	Previous literature on smart city construction (SCC) has mainly focused on its economic and environmental benefits while largely overlooking its potential adverse consequences, especially on microeconomic units. Using China's SCC pilots as a quasi-natural experiment, this study examines the impact of SCC on corporate hiring decisions and finds that SCC adversely impacts corporate employment. The mechanism analysis suggests that SCC affects corporate employment through factor substitution rather than job creation by promoting digital capitalization and capital and technological factor substitution. Further analyses indicate that SCC primarily reduces the number of low-skilled and non-production employees and has a stronger impact on local private, old, and industrial firms. We also find evidence of labor reallocation effects of SCC. Overall, the results highlight the trade-off between promoting SCC and mitigating employment challenges and the role of data as a new production factor in the digital economy era, providing important policy implications for stakeholders.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP210101004
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP210101354
dc.relation.ispartof	Technological Forecasting and Social Change
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.techfore.2023.122783
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	10 Technology, 14 Economics, 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
dc.subject.classification	Science Studies
dc.subject.classification	35 Commerce, management, tourism and services
dc.subject.classification	38 Economics
dc.title	Job creation or disruption? Unraveling the effects of smart city construction on corporate employment in China
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	195
utslib.for	10 Technology
utslib.for	14 Economics
utslib.for	15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business/Accounting Discipline
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-03-06T05:03:22Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	195

Abstract:

Previous literature on smart city construction (SCC) has mainly focused on its economic and environmental benefits while largely overlooking its potential adverse consequences, especially on microeconomic units. Using China's SCC pilots as a quasi-natural experiment, this study examines the impact of SCC on corporate hiring decisions and finds that SCC adversely impacts corporate employment. The mechanism analysis suggests that SCC affects corporate employment through factor substitution rather than job creation by promoting digital capitalization and capital and technological factor substitution. Further analyses indicate that SCC primarily reduces the number of low-skilled and non-production employees and has a stronger impact on local private, old, and industrial firms. We also find evidence of labor reallocation effects of SCC. Overall, the results highlight the trade-off between promoting SCC and mitigating employment challenges and the role of data as a new production factor in the digital economy era, providing important policy implications for stakeholders.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/176199