Tag: inequality

Asia’s Workers Will Benefit from New Technologies, but Government Action is also Needed

Asia’s Workers Will Benefit from New Technologies, but Government Action is also Needed

Technological advances have transformed the two billion worker Asian labor market, helping create 30 million jobs annually in industry and services over the last 25 years, drive increases in productivity and wages, and reduce poverty, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

New research on how technology affects jobs, the subject of the special theme chapter in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018 report, points out that while some of the region’s jobs will be eliminated through automation, countervailing forces will more than compensate against job losses. ADO is ADB’s flagship economic publication.

“ADB’s latest research shows that, […]

ANALYSIS: How technology will change your job

ANALYSIS: How technology will change your job

If you are now employed as a medical transcriptionist in an IT company, perhaps it’s time you started learning other work skills that will prepare you for a new job. Medical transcription is one of low-skill occupations that will soon be phased out, a new study says.

New technologies in industries that will spur future economic growth across Asia, including the Philippines, are likely to generate high-skill jobs but there will also be many workers that will be pushed aside, according to the just released Asian Development Bank (ADB) study.

For instance, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines, […]

What does automation mean for Asia’s job prospects?

What does automation mean for Asia's job prospects?

The panel during the launch of the Asian Development Bank Outlook flagship report. Photo by: ADB MANILA — Almost every industry talks about the potential of automation to boost productivity and cut down on production costs. But the new technologies spurring these incentives, such as robotics, are also posing threats — not just for unemployment, but also in widening the gap in worker opportunities and income inequality. Click here to see a larger version of the chart. Developing Asia’s industry and services sectors have generated about 30 million jobs annually over the past 25 years, according to the Asian […]

Automation not a threat to Asian workers, says ADB

Automation not a threat to Asian workers, says ADB

A recent ADB report says, "The anxiety over automation is overblown." © Reuters HONG KONG — Despite rising worries that artificial intelligence and robots will displace humans in a wide range of occupations, the Asian Development Bank says such technological developments will on the whole result in more job opportunities.

Central to this view is the bank’s assessment of the relative cost of new technologies, even for automating labor-intensive work like garment sewing. Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada told Nikkei Asian Review in an interview that such automation is "technically feasible, but not necessarily economically feasible."

"I think sewing bots cannot really […]

ADB study: government action needed to ensure Asia’s workforce benefit from new technologies

ADB study: government action needed to ensure Asia’s workforce benefit from new technologies

Credit: Asian Development Bank To ensure that everyone can benefit from new technologies, policymakers will need to pursue education reforms that promote lifelong learning, maintain labour market flexibility, strengthen social protection systems, and reduce income inequality,

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) issued its latest report yesterday on the impact of technological advances on labour markets in Asia.

New research on how technology affects jobs, the subject of the special theme chapter in the ADB’s flagship economic publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018 report, points out that while some of the region’s jobs will be eliminated through automation, countervailing forces will more […]

Laboratory Grown Meat

Aim

Process

FocusThis Summer Research Scholarship was dedicated to analysing what the public sector could look like in 2035, in order for the IRD and related agencies to plan and prepare.To identify what the public sector could look like in 2035, things that had the capacity to change the public landscape (i.e. drivers of change) were identified and researched. Nine key drivers were analysed. The most significant driver and topic of this poster was Disruptive Technology. Two questions were asked of the research: Firstly, what is happening with this driver? And more specifically, so what does this mean for the IRD […]

Asia’s workers will benefit from new technologies, but government action is also needed: ADB study

MANILA, April 11 (Xinhua) — Technological advances have transformed the two billion workers in Asian labor market, helping create 30 million jobs annually in industry and services over the last 25 years, driving increases in productivity and wages, and reducing poverty, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released on Wednesday.

New research on how technology affects jobs, the subject of the special theme chapter in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018 report, points out that while some of the region’s jobs will be eliminated through automation, countervailing forces will more than compensate against job losses.

ADO is […]

Analysis: Loss of factory jobs needn’t spell doom for nations, IMF Says

WASHINGTON — Economies don’t necessarily have less growth or higher income inequality as factory jobs become more scarce, the International Monetary Fund said.

Manufacturing’s share of employment has been declining in advanced economies for almost five decades, the IMF said Monday in an analysis that’s part of its latest World Economic Outlook.

The fall in factory employment has worried some economists and policymakers, who often see manufacturing as a key catalyst for a nation’s productivity growth and a solid source of good-paying jobs for lower-skilled workers.President Donald Trump has said he would revive the U.S. manufacturing sector and bring back jobs […]

Loss of Factory Jobs Needn’t Spell Doom for Nations, IMF Says

Loss of Factory Jobs Needn't Spell Doom for Nations, IMF Says

Productivity growth doesn’t necessarily slow, fund says

President Trump has vowed to revive U.S. manufacturing sector

Economies don’t necessarily suffer lower growth or higher income inequality as factory jobs become more scarce, the International Monetary Fund said.Manufacturing’s share of employment has been declining in advanced economies for almost five decades, the IMF said Monday in an analysis that’s part of its latest World Economic Outlook. The full report, including the fund’s updated global economic forecasts, will be released April 17 at the IMF’s annual spring meeting in Washington.The slide in factory employment has worried some economists and […]

Automation risks costing people their health as well as their jobs

Automation risks costing people their health as well as their jobs

Unease over the role of automation-related job losses has risen in recent years, spawning academic conferences, research studies and a host of news stories. To be sure, productivity growth through better automation and work processes should be a welcomed feature of any economy.

There is a justified concern, however, for workers who find themselves unable to work due to obsolete skills. That worry is the basis for significant investments in workforce training and skill enhancements in every state, but what if there’s more to the problem? Does the risk of automation-related job losses effect more than labor market outcomes?

That question […]