Within the framework of the MIT — Slovakia Seed Fund (MISTI Global funds for Slovakia), created in 2019 by the Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (hereinafter MIT), researchers and PhD students from the Department of Economic Policy from the Faculty of National Economics of the University of Economics in Bratislava (hereinafter referred to as EUBA), as one of the first research teams in the Slovak Republic, managed to successfully obtain funding for a project called: “Implications of automation for the labor market in the United States and the European Union” (hereinafter referred to as the Project) between 1 May 2022 and 31 January 2024.
The bilateral project on the part of MIT is covered by a team of researchers and students led by Prof. Darona Acemoglu and on the part of EUBA by doc. Martin Lábaj. The project aims to establish a cooperation between the Department of Economics of MIT and the University of Economics in Bratislava, which will exceed the time and content of the project in the research area and will lead to the beginning and gradual deepening of cooperation. “Daron Acemoglu ranks among the TOP 3 most renowned economic academics in the world according to the RePec database. Participating in solving the project directly with him and his team is for us an incredible success, a huge challenge, and a commitment to take the level of research at the department to a new level,” Martin Lábaj, a responsible researcher for the Slovak part, said in an interview. Within the grant cycle 2021-2022 it is the only supported project in the field of social sciences in Slovakia.
The future of work is the source of many controversies. Some fear that new technologies, advances in automation, and the use of artificial intelligence will lead to mass unemployment and job extinction. Others point to the widespread benefits of technological progress from the days of the Industrial Revolution to the present day. They argue that current automation and other new technologies will ultimately lead to a rise in employment and wages.
Content will lead to a deeper examination of the implications of automation on labor demand, productivity, replacement, and job creation based on automation and robotization, as one of the main trends in manufacturing in the United States and Europe, as suggested by the published research of the mentioned collaborators on the Project. The fulfillment of the objective of the Project includes two bilateral exchanges of researchers and PhD students from EUBA and MIT, planned for 2022 and 2023.
MISTI Global Funds
https://misti.mit.edu/faculty-funds
- enable participating teams to cooperate with researchers in the same disciplines, whether directly at MIT or abroad, through the creation and launch of joint research projects. MISTI GSF consists of a so-called general fund and other funds specific to individual countries, regions, or universities.
MIT Slovakia Seed fund
https://misti.mit.edu/faculty-funds/available-funds/gsf-slovakia
- supports cooperation and mobility between MIT and universities and research institutions in Slovakia. It is open to all scientific disciplines. Its main task is to ensure the financing of common basic research projects between MIT faculties and students and universities in Slovakia, may it be in the field of natural or social sciences. It is a great opportunity for young scientists as it allows direct meetings with foreign scientists workshops, discussion, and brainstorming. It creates an environment for joint publications and often consolidates cooperation even after the end of the project.
