Conference Paper
The Role of Artificial Intelligence Within the Algerian Economy: Opportunity or Threat to the Job Market?
No.
ERF_31_MIC77
Publisher
ERF
Date
March, 2025
Topic
D. Microeconomics
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming global labor markets, offering opportunities to boost productivity and create industries while raising concerns about job displacement and inequality. For Algeria, an oil dependent economy, AI presents both opportunities to diversify and improve efficiency and risks such as unemployment, skill gaps, and delayed adoption due technological gap and institutional constraints. This study adopts a novel approach that estimates automation risk by mixing probabilities of capabilities required for various occupations using occupational databases and crosswalks. These probabilities were adjusted with a correction factor accounting for the slower technological adoption in emerging markets, inspired by historical patterns. The findings reveal a significant lag in AI adoption, with automation in Algeria trailing advanced economies by approximately 2.5 times the required time. Some qualitative insights from interviews with managers and employees adequate with our results, the study concludes that Algeria faces minimal immediate AI risks. Integration and its consequences are likely to be delayed due to industrial dependency and competitive pricing from developed countries. These findings provide a foundation for future MENA-wide studies on the impact of AI on labor markets.
Authors
Rachid Azzaz
Lecturer, Higher School of Management and Digital...
Research Associates
Lylia Sami
Professor, Higher School of Management and Digital...