The complementarity between automation and flexible labor contracts : firm-level evidence from Italy
- Travero, Silvio Department of Law and of Political, Economic and Social Science, University of Eastern Piedmont, Alessandria, Italy
- Vatiero, Massimiliano ORCID Istituto di diritto (IDUSI), Facoltà di scienze economiche, Università della Svizzera italiana, Svizzera - Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Italy
- Zaninotto, Enrico Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento, Italy - Fondazione Bruno Kessler-IRVAPP, Trento, Italy
- 2025
Published in:
- Journal of Institutional Economics. - 2025, vol. 21, no. e15, p. 1-17
English
This study examines the association between firm-level investments in automation technologies and employment outcomes, drawing on a panel dataset of approximately 10,450 Italian firms. We focus on the proliferation of non-standard labour contracts introduced by labour market reforms in the 2000s, which facilitated external labour flexibility. Our findings reveal a positive relationship between automation investments and the adoption of these flexible labour arrangements. Guided by a conceptual framework, we interpret this result as evidence of complementarity between automation technologies – viewed as flexible capital – and non-standard contractual arrangements – viewed as flexible labour. This complementarity is essential for enhancing operational flexibility, a critical driver of firm performance in competitive market environments. From a policy perspective, our analysis highlights the importance of measures that protect labour without undermining the efficiency gains enabled by automation.
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- Language
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- English
- Classification
- Economics
- License
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CC BY
- Open access status
- hybrid
- Identifiers
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- DOI 10.1017/s1744137425000104
- RICERCO 35457
- ARK ark:/12658/srd1336448
- Persistent URL
- https://n2t.net/ark:/12658/srd1336448
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