European Business Schools Librarian's Group
Department of Economics Working Papers,
Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics
Electricity use of automation or how to tax robots?
Emanuel Gasteiger (), Michael Kuhn (), Matthias Mistlbacher () and Klaus Prettner ()
Additional contact information
Emanuel Gasteiger: Institute for Mathematical Economics and Statistics, Vienna University of Technology
Michael Kuhn: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Matthias Mistlbacher: Institute for Mathematical Economics and Statistics, Vienna University of Technology
Klaus Prettner: Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business
Abstract: While automation technologies replace workers in ever more tasks, robots, 3D printers, and AI-based applications require substantial amounts of electricity. This raises concerns regarding the feasibility of the energy transition towards mitigating climate change. How does automation interact with conventional capital in driving energy demand and how do taxes on robots and taxes on electricity affect the adoption of robots and AI? To answer these questions, we generalize a standard economic growth model with automation and electricity use. In addition, we augment the model with electricity taxes and robot taxes and show the mechanisms by which these taxes affect automation. We find that an electricity tax serves a similar purpose as a robot tax. However, a robot tax is much more difficult to implement from a practical perspective.
Keywords: Automation, Robots, Growth, Electricity Use, Energy Taxes, Robot Taxes
JEL-codes: O11; O14; H21; H23 April 2024
Note: PDF Document
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WP364.pdf
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