The Macroeconomic Effect of AI: Sizing the Software Engineering Channel
Alex Blumenfeld, Jonathon Hazell, Chen Lian, Andreas Schaab · NBER Working Papers · September 2026
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Key takeaway AI-written
This NBER paper sizes AI's macroeconomic effect through its impact on software engineering productivity, using firms' stock-return sensitivity to AI news to build a forward-looking, real-time measure.
Abstract
We measure how artificial intelligence (AI) affects the economy through its impact on software engineering productivity. We use information from financial markets to develop a forward-looking measure that is available in real time. We estimate the sensitivity of each firms stock return to an AI
About this publication
Working paper. A working paper — circulated for discussion before formal peer review, the standard first outlet in economics.
- Published
- 2026
- Citations
- Not recorded for this source
Citation counts come from OpenAlex; none are recorded for this source — absence of a count is not absence of citations.
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