David Autor

David H. Autor

Ford Professor of Economics

Research Fields

Labor Economics, Macroeconomics, Political Economy, Public Economics
Published Articles Publications by Topic Working Papers Courses Video Presentations Data Archive

Contact Information

View & Download CV
Office Phone 617-258-7698
Email Address dautor@mit.edu
Office E52-438
Social
Assistant Name Lauren Fahey
Assistant Phone 617-253-4669
China Shock Research MIT Work of the Future Task Force
Blueprint Labs JPAL North America - Worker Prosperity Initiative National Bureau of Economic Research - Labor Studies Program
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Featured Publications

The Skill Content of Recent Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration

David H. Autor, Frank Levy, Richard J. Murnane
The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(4), 1279–1333
November 2003

The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States

David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson
American Economic Review, 103(6), 2121–2168
October 2013

Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and Earnings

Handbook of Labor Economics, 4(B), pp. 1043-1171

The Rise in the Disability Rolls and the Decline in Unemployment

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118(1), 157–205

The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(2), 645–709

All David H. Autor Publications

Bio

David Autor is Ford Professor in the MIT Department of Economics. His scholarship explores the labor-market impacts of technological change and globalization on job polarization, skill demands, earnings levels and inequality, and electoral outcomes.

Autor has received numerous awards for both his scholarship—the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, the Sherwin Rosen Prize for outstanding contributions in the field of Labor Economics, the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship—and for his teaching, including the MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellowship.

In 2017, Autor was recognized by Bloomberg as one of the 50 people who defined global business. In March of 2019, he was christened "Twerpy MIT Economist, David Autor" by John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight, during a segment on automation and employment. Autor is currently determining how to merchandise this title.

Publications of Note

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Sources

File package containing datasets, do-files, and log files (zipped)
Labor Economics, Macroeconomics, Political Economy, Public Economics

Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(3), 3–30.
David H. Autor
August 2015

Sources

File package containing datasets, do-files, and log files (zipped)
Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, Public Economics, Political Economy

The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market

American Economic Review, 103(5), 1553–1597
David Autor, David Dorn
August 2013
Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, Public Economics, Political Economy

The China Shock: Learning from Labor Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade

Annual Review of Economics, 8, 205–240.
David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson
August 2016

Sources

NBER Working Paper
Labor Economics, Macroeconomics, Political Economy, Public Economics

The Polarization of the U.S. Labor Market

American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, 96(2), 189–194
David H. Autor, Lawrence F. Katz, Melissa S. Kearney
May 2006
Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, Public Economics, Political Economy

Importing Political Polarization? The Electoral Consequences of Rising Trade Exposure

American Economic Review, 2020, 110(10), 3139–3183
David Autor, David Dorn, Gordon Hanson, Kaveh Majlesi
October 2020

Featured Awards & Honors

2020
Heinz 25th Anniversary Special Recognition award for "transforming understanding of how globalization and technological change are impacting jobs and earning prospects for American workers.”
2018
MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellowship
2019
Andrew Carnegie Fellowship (2019-2021)
2003
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship (2003-2005)
2003
National Science Foundation CAREER Award