Replication Data for: Misattributed Blame? Attitudes Towards Globalization in the Age of Automation

Many, especially low-skilled workers, blame globalization for their economic woes. Robots and machines, which have led to job market polarization, rising income inequality, and labor displacement, are often viewed much more forgivingly. This paper argues that citizens have a tendency to misattribute blame for economic dislocations toward immigrants and workers abroad, while discounting the effects of technology. Using the 2016 American National Elections Studies (ANES), a nationally representative survey, I show that workers facing higher risks of automation are more likely to oppose free trade agreements and favor immigration restrictions, even controlling for standard explanations for these attitudes. While pocket-book concerns do influence attitudes toward globalization, this work calls into question the standard assumption that individuals understand and can correctly identify the sources of their economic anxieties. Accelerated automation may have intensified attempts to resist globalization.

诸多群体，尤其是低技能劳动者，将自身的经济困境归咎于全球化。尽管机器人与机器已引发劳动力市场极化、收入不平等加剧以及劳动岗位替代问题，但人们对其的包容度往往远高于全球化。本文提出，民众往往会将经济动荡的责任错误归咎于移民与海外劳工，却忽视了技术变革带来的影响。借助具有全国代表性的2016年美国全国选举研究（American National Elections Studies, ANES）调研数据，本文发现，面临更高自动化风险的劳动者更倾向于反对自由贸易协定、支持移民限制政策，即便在控制了影响这类态度的标准解释变量后，该结论依然稳健。尽管切身经济关切确实会影响民众对全球化的态度，但本研究对"个体能够理解并准确识别自身经济焦虑的根源"这一主流学术假设提出了质疑。加速推进的自动化或许进一步强化了民众抵制全球化的倾向。