%0 Report
        %A Brüll, Eduard
%A Mäurer, Samuel
%A Rostam-Afschar, Davud
        %T Beliefs about Bots: How Employers Plan for AI in White-Collar Work
        %D 2025
        %8 2025 Oct
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 18225
        %U https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18225
        %X We provide experimental evidence on how employers adjust expectations to automation risk in high-skill, white-collar work. Using a randomized information intervention among tax advisors in Germany, we show that firms systematically underestimate automatability. Information provision raises risk perceptions, especially for routine-intensive roles. Yet, it leaves short-run hiring plans unchanged. Instead, updated beliefs increase productivity and financial expectations with minor wage adjustments, implying within-firm inequality like limited rent-sharing. Employers also anticipate new tasks in legal tech, compliance, and AI interaction, and report higher training and adoption intentions.
        %K belief updating
%K firm expectations
%K technology adoption
%K innovation
%K technological change
%K automation
%K artificial intelligence
%K expertise
%K labor demand
%K white collar jobs
%K training