In a study by Heyman and Olsson (2026), the authors examine how parental exposure to automation affects children’s educational choices, earnings, and labor market outcomes in adulthood. The analysis is based on detailed Swedish register data on income, education, occupations, and industries, combined with measures of robot adoption. By comparing children whose parents were highly exposed to automation in the 1990s with children whose otherwise similar parents were less exposed, the study identifies how differences in parents’ labor market conditions translate into outcomes for the next generation.
