CORA - Conference on Robots and Automation

The fourth conference on the economic impact of robots and automation (CORA) will take place on September 23rd and 24th 2025 at WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, in cooperation with the University of Economics in Bratislava. By now, we have established a widely recognized platform for all economists working in the rapidly growing fields of robots, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, the conference provides a forum for discussion between data users and the main data provider in this field, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
Please find the Call for Papers here.
Keynote speakers will be
Anne Jurkat (International Federation of Robotics)
David Hémous (University of Zurich)
On September 23rd, we plan to have a panel discussion on "Robots, AI, and the Future of Work: Is Europe Prepared?” with a diverse set of participants covering the industry, science, and policy perspectives.
Researchers from all fields of economics are invited to present new research results and discuss possible directions for future research activities. We welcome the submission of papers with an empirical, theoretical, and/or policy orientation focusing on micro- or macroeconomic aspects of robots, automation, and artificial intelligence.
Topics presented could include but are not limited to
- the effects of automation on economic growth, productivity, and welfar
- the effects of automation on inflation and interest rates
- the environmental effects of automation and AI
- the causes of automation such as technological change, labor market shortages, population aging, low interest rates and investment incentives, etc.
- economic policy implications of automation and AI
We also encourage PhD students with work-in-progress to submit proposals for a poster session.
Please submit an extended abstract of your paper/poster or the complete paper via conftool: https://www.conftool.net/cora2025/ .
Best Paper Award: The International Federation of Robotics will sponsor a prize (free access to the World Robotics 2025 Premium Edition) for the best paper presented at the conference. On submission of your paper, please state whether you wish to enter the competition.
Submission Deadline: Monday, June 2, 2025
Notification: Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Registration deadline for presenting attendees is Friday, August 8, 2025. The participation fee is €149 and includes workshop materials, coffee breaks, refreshments during the workshop, and a conference dinner. It is possible to attend the conference without presenting a paper. Enquiries for non-presenting attendees should be sent to cora@wiwi.uni-frankfurt.de. Non-presenting attendees are subject to the same participation fee as presenting authors.
Members of the Selection Committee are Ana Abeliansky (WU and OeNB, Vienna), Katja Mann (Copenhagen Business School), Christopher Müller (IFR, Frankfurt), Klaus Prettner (WU Vienna), Anna Salomons (Tilburg University and Utrecht University School of Economics), and Simone Vannuccini (University Côte d'Azur).
Conference organization: Anne Jurkat, Goethe University, Frankfurt (aj@ifr.org), Klaus Prettner, Vienna University of Economics and Business (klaus.prettner@wu.ac.at).
Special Session organized by Martin Labaj (University of Economics in Bratislava).
Please visit the local conference website for further information.
Past Keynote Speakers: Philippe Aghion (INSEAD Paris), Anna Salomons (Utrecht University), and Guy Michaels (LSE).
Previous Conferences