Hello. I'm Fabien Petit.

Research Fellow at UCL, Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities and (incoming) Assistant Professor at the University of Barcelona. I am interested in Labor Economics, Innovation Economics and Education Economics.

My research focuses on labor markets, technologies, skills, generations and inequality.

🚨📢 Latest news:

Research CV

Research

"Research is an organized method for keeping you reasonably dissatisfied with what you have." - Charles F. Kettering.

đź“° Publications

Can Workers Still Climb the Social Ladder as Middling Jobs Become Scarce?

Evidence from Two British Cohorts

with Cecilia García-Peñalosa and Tanguy van Ypersele | Labour Economics (2023) | Publication | Ungated Version

Abstract: The increase in employment polarization observed in several high-income economies has coincided with a reduction in inter-generational mobility. This paper argues that the disappearance of middling jobs can drive changes in mobility, notably by removing a stepping-stone towards high-paying occupations for those from less well-off family backgrounds. Using data for two British cohorts we examine how the occupational outcomes of children depend on both initial occupations and occupational upgrading during their careers. We find that transitions across occupations are key for mobility and that the effect of parental income on those transitions has become stronger over time. Moreover, the impact of parental income increased the most in the regions where the share of middling employment fell the most, suggesting that greater employment polarization may be one of the factors behind the observed decline in mobility.

đź“ť Working papers

The Employment Impact of Emerging Digital Technologies

with Ekaterina Prytkova, Deyu Li, Sugat Chaturvedi and Tommaso Ciarli | Working Paper | TechXposure Database | Online Appendix
Best Paper Award at the 2nd CESifo / ifo Junior Workshop on Big Data
IMF Paper Award at the Armenian Economic Association 2024 Annual Meetings
Media Coverage by La Voce

Abstract: This paper measures the exposure of industries and occupations to a broad set of emerging digital technologies and estimates their impact on European employment. Using a novel approach that leverages sentence transformers, we calculate exposure scores based on the semantic similarity between patents and international standard classifications, creating the open-access `TechXposure' database. Through a shift-share design, we instrument regional exposure to estimate the effects of these technologies on employment across European regions. We find a net positive impact, with growth in low- and high-skilled employment at the expense of middle-skilled jobs, suggesting ongoing job polarization. At the technology level, we observe significant heterogeneity: robots and machine learning negatively impact employment (except for high-skilled workers), while workflow management and information processing systems have positive effects. Our results suggest that focusing narrowly on specific technologies like AI and robots may overlook broader positive employment impacts stemming from complementarities among diverse digital technologies.

Life Events, Social Identity and Values

Working Paper

Abstract: This paper explores how life events change values and social identity when both are endogenous, i.e. when individuals identify with a social group based on shared values. Life events may introduce new information that shifts a value central to their social identity, misaligning individuals with their current social group’s values. Consequently, individuals may align with a new group, affecting previously unchanged values and creating spillover effects. Using cohort data, I find that life events, such as parenthood or sickness, significantly alter values and social identity. Overlooking the interdependence between values underestimates the extent to which life experiences affect individuals.

Automation and Employment over the Technology Life Cycle

Evidence from European Regions

with Florencia Jaccoud, Tommaso Ciarli and Maria Savona | Working Paper

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of digital automation technologies—ICT, robots, and software and databases—on European regional labor markets during different investment phases of technology life cycles from 1995 to 2017. We first identify major breakthroughs and phases of investment acceleration and deceleration that characterize these life cycles. We then examine how exposure to these technologies affects employment and wages during various life cycle phases. We find both positive and negative short-term effects of automation on employment within these phases, which tend to offset each other in the long run. The impact on employment rates varies by technology and phase: ICT and software have significant effects in high-productivity, service-specialized regions, while for robots, the life cycle phases are more critical than regional characteristics in explaining employment impacts.

Heterogeneous Adjustments of Labor Markets to Automation Technologies

with Florencia Jaccoud and Tommaso Ciarli | CESifo Working Paper

Abstract: This paper examines the labor market adjustments to four automation technologies (i.e. robots, communication technology, information technology, and software/database) in 227 regions across 22 European countries from 1995 to 2017. By constructing a measure of technology penetration, we estimate changes in regional employment and wages affected by automation technologies along with the reallocation of workers between sectors. We find that labor market adjustments to automation technologies differ according to i) the technology involved, ii) the sector of penetration, iii) the sectoral composition of the region, and iv) the region's technological capabilities. These adjustments are driven largely by the reallocation of low-paid workers across sectors.

Inter-generational Conflict and the Declining Labor Share

Working Paper

Abstract: This paper argues that the decline in the labor income share since the 1970s is a consequence of the emergence of a relatively larger generation, the Baby Boomers, compared to other cohorts. I develop an OLG model in which public policy is endogenously shaped by the population's age structure through voting. When young, Baby Boomers vote to increase unemployment benefits to mitigate unemployment risk, raising the value of their outside option in wage bargaining and enabling them to negotiate higher wages. Firms respond by substituting labor with capital to limit workers' rent appropriation, causing a decline in the labor share. Once the Boomers retire, this effect reverses but is offset by capital accumulation driven by the Boomers' high savings rates, fueled by higher wages, further reducing the labor share. Calibrated for France and the United States, the model's simulations replicate the observed decline in labor share and labor market dynamics. The model predicts that, from 2020 onward, approximately one percentage point of labor income share will shift to capital income every 20 years, on average, through the end of the 21st century.

🔜 Work in progress

Education Spillovers in the United Kingdom

with Arun Advani and Claire Crawford | Data analysis

Firms’ Adoption of Emerging Technologies: Evidence from Online Job Ads

with Anna Giabelli, Ekaterina Prytkova and Tommaso Ciarli | Data analysis

Generational Inertia in Skill Adoption

Theoretical model derivation

✏️ Other writing

AI and Employment Opportunities: Fostering Skill Development for a Prosperous Future

CEPEO Briefing Note Series, No 27 | Publication

Heterogeneous adjustments of employment to automation technologies

Evidence from manufacturing industries in European regions

with Tommaso Ciarli and Florencia Jaccoud | EconPol Forum 23 (5), 24-28 | Publication

Workshop and Seminar Organizations

đź’¬ Junior Research Day

2024 Junior Research Day — Autumn London Meeting

co-organized with Elodie Andrieu, Olimpia Cutinelli-Rendina and Meng Yu Ngov | UCL | Program

2024 Junior Research Day — Spring Paris Meeting

co-organized with Elodie Andrieu, Olimpia Cutinelli-Rendina and Meng Yu Ngov | Collège de France | Program

2023 Junior Research Day — Autumn London Meeting

co-organized with Elodie Andrieu, Olimpia Cutinelli-Rendina and Meng Yu Ngov | King's College London | Program

đź’¬ IFS-UCL-IoE Human Capital and Labour Markets Seminar Series

2024 Autumn Edition

co-organized with Claire Crawford, Hedvig Horváth , Attila Lindner, Lindsey Macmillan and Imran Tahir | Institute for Fiscal Studies | Program

2024 Spring Edition

co-organized with Monica Costa Dias, Claire Crawford, Lindsey Macmillan, Imran Rasul and Imran Tahir | Institute for Fiscal Studies | Program

2023 Autumn Edition

co-organized with Monica Costa Dias, Claire Crawford, Lindsey Macmillan, Imran Rasul and Imran Tahir | Institute for Fiscal Studies | Program

Teaching

"A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others." - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

đź’ˇ Current

Macroeconomics II

Lecturer

Postgraduate, University of Barcelona (Spring 2025)

Economic Growth

Lecturer

Undergraduate, University of Barcelona (Spring 2025)

🌟 Experience

Economics of Education

Seminar Leader for Sam Sims

Undergraduate, UCL (Spring 2024)

Advanced Microeconomics I

Teaching Assistant for Roberta Ziparo

BSc Mathematics and Economics, AMU (2019-2021)

Advanced Microeconomics II

Teaching Assistant for Roberta Ziparo

BSc Mathematics and Economics, AMU (2019-2022)

Macroeconomics I

Teaching Assistant for CĂ©line Poilly

BSc Economics and Law, AMU (2020-2022)
BSc Economics and Management, AMU (2019-2022)

International Monetary Mechanisms

Teaching Assistant for Gilbert Bougi

BSc Business and International Trade Management, AMU (Spring 2019)

Mathematics I

Teaching Assistant for Laurent Bruasse and Maxime Gilly

BSc Economics and Law, AMU (2019-2021)

Mathematics II

Teaching Assistant for Laurent Bruasse

BSc Economics and Management, AMU (Spring 2019)

Contact me

I would love to receive other emails than spam. For real.
Do not hesitate to send me an e-mail to f.petit@ucl.ac.uk


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