This paper deals with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) which transport containers between the quai and the stack on automated container terminals. The focus is on the assigment of transportation jobs to AGVs within a terminal control system operating in real time. First, we describe a rather...

This paper summarizes considerations and preliminary research results on the consequences of the progressive use of digital technologies in industrial work. The focus is particularly on the situation in German industry, where this development has been intensively discussed as 'Industry 4.0'....

Automation affects workers because it affects the return to their skills when performing different tasks. I propose a general equilibrium model of occupational choice and technological change which takes two important labor market features into account: (i) automation happens to tasks and (ii)...

The COVID 19 crisis has had a massive impact on the world of work. Based on a standardized survey of 540 company sites and 34 qualitative case studies in six industries (automotive, chemicals, mechanical engineering, logistics, healthcare and financial services), this study examines how...

Computers can substitute for many tasks currently performed by humans and are likely to change occupations in the near future. However, it is not likely that entire occupations will disappear. In this context, little attention has been paid to possible impacts of digital transformation on...

We offer an integrated explanation and empirical analysis of the polarization of U.S. employment and wages between 1980 and 2005, and the concurrent growth of low skill service occupations. We attribute polarization to the interaction between consumer preferences, which favor variety over...