Artificial Intelligence
The Economic Impacts and the Regulation of AI: A Review of the Academic Literature and Policy Actions (IMF, 2024)
This webinar examines the economic impacts of AI and its global regulation, highlighting discrepancies between theoretical predictions and empirical data on employment and productivity, and noting divergent focuses in academic and regulatory discussions.
Abstract: A discussion with the authors of the recent review of the literature on the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption and the ongoing regulatory efforts concerning this technology. Their economic review encompasses literature on growth, employment, productivity, and income inequality effects, while regulation covers market competition, data privacy, copyright, national security, ethics concerns, and financial stability. The paper argues that: (i) theoretical research agrees that AI will affect most occupations and transform growth, but empirical findings are inconclusive on employment and productivity effects; (ii) regulation has focused primarily on topics not explored by the academic literature; (iii) across countries, regulations differ widely in scope and approaches and face difficult trade-offs. The presentation of the paper will be followed by an open discussion with the participants.
Authors: Mariarosaria Comunale (IMF) and Andrea Manera (IMF)
Participants
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Mariarosaria Comunale (IMF)EconomistMariarosaria Comunale is an Economist at the IMF in the Research Department, Development Macro Division. Prior to that she was Principal Research Economist at the Bank of Lithuania. She also worked at the ECB and at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank. Her main area of research pertains to Applied International Macroeconomics, for analysis of macro-financial imbalances, Artificial Intelligence, innovation, monetary policy, growth, and inequality. She published her works in the Journal of International Money and Finance, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Advances in Econometrics, among others. She holds a Ph.D. in Money and Finance from the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
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Andrea Manera (IMF)EconomistAndrea Manera is an Economist in the European Department at the IMF. His research at the Fund focused on the role of capital flows and FDI in promoting growth and innovation, and the potential effects of AI on labor markets and productivity. Previously, he worked on automation, innovation, and labor market reforms, publishing on the Review of Economic Dynamics and the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. He received a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to that, he worked as an Analyst in the Research Department at Goldman Sachs International.
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Pawel Gmyrek (ILO Research)Senior ResearcherPawel Gmyrek is a Senior Researcher in the Effective Labour Institutions unit of ILO’s Research Department. His current work is focused on the impact of generative AI on employment and occupational structures and on the use of generative AI tools and large unstructured datasets for research purposes. He is a co-moderator of the new AI for Good series on AI and Work. Pawel holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a Master’s degree from Warsaw School of Economics, Poland. He has been staff member of the International Labour Office since 2008.