Automation and Polarization

Daron Acemoğlu, Jonas Loebbing · Journal of Political Economy · 28 Oct 2025

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Abstract

We develop an assignment model of automation. Each of a continuum of tasks of variable complexity is assigned to either capital or one of a continuum of labor skills. We characterize conditions for interior automation, whereby tasks of intermediate complexity are performed by capital. Interior automation arises when low-skill wages are low and effective cost of capital in low-complexity tasks is high. Minimum wages make interior automation less likely. Higher capital productivity causes employment and wage polarization, changes the skill premium nonmonotonically, and reduces the real wage of workers with comparative advantage profiles close to that of capital.

About this publication

Top journal. One of the journals economics departments rank highest: the “top five” economics journals, and the general-science journals Science and Nature.

Placed by: Top five economics journals. How sources are ranked.

Published: 2025 (12 months ago)
Citations: 10 (OpenAlex)

Citations in context

10 citations — 58th percentile among the 33 indexed papers from 2025 in this collection. Citation counts favor older papers; this compares only same-year papers here, not the whole literature.

□ added to this collection in 2026.

Daron Acemoglu signed the wemustactnow.ai letter · author affiliation matches seed institution massachusetts institute of technology — part of why this paper is in the collection.

Automation and Polarization

Abstract

About this publication

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