Automation and the Intra-firm Inequality: How Industrial Robots Reshape Income Distribution Between Managers and Workers in China

The rapid proliferation of industrial robots, as a core driver of China's intelligent manufacturing transformation, has reignited debates about technology-driven inequality within organizations. Drawing on data from Chinese A-share listed firms and industrial robot deployment statistics from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), this study identifies the causal impact of robotic automation on the managerial-worker income divide. The results indicate that the use of industrial robots notably amplifies the income gap between management and ordinary employees, with this result holding consistent across various robustness checks. Mechanism analysis reveals that the use of industrial robots induces more income to flow towards corporate management through the risk compensation effect and rent-sharing effect, thereby expanding the income gap with ordinary employees. Heterogeneity analysis shows that this conclusion is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, high-tech firms, and enterprises located in areas with high labor costs. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of how industrial robotics impact income distribution and provides policy implications for the overall promotion of industrial intelligence and common prosperity.