Economic Competition, US-China Rivalry, and Technological Attitudes

• In Event: Workers, Robots, and International Political Economics

Abstract

Automation may threaten livelihoods, but so may the absence of technological change. This paper argues that individuals' attitudes toward workplace technology are shaped by perceptions of global competition and their corresponding beliefs about technology's role in this competition. Believing that technological modernization enhances global competitiveness, individuals who perceive a greater threat from foreign competitors are more likely to support adoption of new technology in the workplace and tolerate technology's threat to jobs. This paper takes a broad view of competition to include economic competition from international trade and perceived geopolitical rivalry between nations. Using a survey and survey experiment conducted in the United States, I find that concerns about international standing, viewed from a sociotropic/geopolitical (but not egotropic/self-interested) perspective are consequential in shaping technology attitudes. In the observational study, individuals who believe that technology will make the United States better off compared to its competitors, or those primed to consider US-China rivalry in the experiment, exhibit more positive attitudes toward technology and are less likely to prefer government intervention to slow down automation.

Author

• Nicole Wu, University of Hong Kong