Research on the Impact of Industrial Robots on China’s Regional In-dustrial Structure

Abstract

The large-scale deployment of industrial robots and the technological innovation brought by artificial intelligence promote the development of local high industrialization and modernization. Industrial robots are going through the process of changing from automatic tools to intelligent tools, and even to innovative tools. Theoretical analysis shows that its universal characteristics and technological progress effect contribute to the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure. The panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model is constructed based on the data of the international robotics Union. The results show that the following facts. (1). The impact of industrial robots on the upgrading of China’s regional industrial structure has a single threshold effect, which can be roughly divided into an impact area bounded by Hu Huanyong line and high in the east and low in the west. (2). With the increasing impact, the positive effect of material capital agglomeration on the upgrading of regional industrial structure is restrained, and the negative effect of industrial labor agglomeration on the upgrading of regional industrial structure should be enhanced. (3). Affected by the impact, the elasticity of material capital agglomeration and industrial labor agglomeration increases marginally in the west of Hu Huanyong line, decreases marginally in the east of Hu Huanyong line, and finally converges. (4). Industrial robots have no significant impact on the industrial structure in the process of attracting human capital agglomeration, technological factor agglomeration and guiding the change of consumption structure.