Does the application of industrial robots overcome the Solow paradox? Evidence from China

With the development of the industrial robot, has its application promoted China's total factor productivity? Does it overcome the Solow paradox? Based on China's provincial panel data from 2006 to 2019, this study systematically examines the impact of industrial robot application on the total factor productivity in different regions. The empirical results of this study indicate: (ⅰ) there is a U-shaped relationship between the application of industrial robots and the total factor productivity, and the provinces whose industrial robot installation density exceeds the U-shaped turning point account for 61.19%; (ⅱ) for the robustness test section, we use the IV-2SLS, DOLS, FMOLS methods and replace the dependent variable to re-estimate the empirical analysis, and the results are the same as the baseline regression; (ⅲ) the transmission mechanism results show that industrial robot application promotes the total factor productivity by improving human capital and information technology, while aging has a negative effect on the total factor productivity; (iv) finally, the spatial effect test shows that the application of industrial robots on the total factor productivity has a U-shaped relationship in local areas, while it has an inverted U-shaped relationship in the neighboring regions.