Robotics, programmable automation, and international competitiveness

Presents some foundations for policy analysis, including: the place of robotics within current and prospective advances in manufacturing technology; the effects of increasing robot utilization on productivity and costs and the resulting effects on international competitiveness. The author considers the problems and policy implications of seeking to accelerate the development of robotics and related advances in manufacturing technology to accelerate the diffusion of such advances within domestic manufacturing industries and to mitigate any potentially burdensome social and economic effects of such developments.