Automation risk and job polarization in the Philippines: An occupational task-content approach
Date
2025-05-31
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Abstract
This study investigates the contribution of automation to job polarization in the Philippines. Using employment and wage data from the merged FIES-LFS dataset (2018-2023), we first test for the presence of polarization and find a U-shaped relationship between occupation’s wage rank and employment growth characterized by rising employment in low- and high-wage jobs and a decline in middle-wage occupations. Using Generalao’s (2019) task portfolios and a distance based framework, we construct automatability indices for 443 Philippine occupations. However, empirical estimates reveal that the automatability index has limited and inconsistent effects on employment growth, while the task intensity results indicate continued growth in middle-wage occupations. These findings suggest that automation alone is insufficient to fully explain job polarization in the Philippine labor market, highlighting the need for labor policies that extend beyond technological adoption and address broader labor market challenges shaping the future of work.
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Job polarization, Employment, Wages