A wave of new technologies – such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and digital platforms – prompts both concern about automation and unemployment as well as optimism about innovation enriching longer, healthier lives. In one of the first studies of service sector robotics using establishment-level data, we study the impact of robots on staffing in Japanese nursing homes, using geographic variation in robot subsidies as an instrumental variable. We find that robot adoption decreases difficulty in staff retention, as well as increases employment of care workers and nurses on flexible employment contracts. Our findings suggest that robots may help to remedy challenges posed by rapidly aging populations and strained caregiving workforces, and that their adoption may not be detrimental to workers or quality of care, although more research would be valuable.

JEL Code: I11, J14, J23, O30,
Key words: Robots, jobs, nursing homes, automation, aging, healthcare
Last updated: May 2026