Tag: manufactur

In the Automation Debate, Don’t Forget the Job Multiplier Effect

In the Automation Debate, Don’t Forget the Job Multiplier Effect

Emsi Senior Economist/Co-Founder In his 1950s satire Player Piano , author Kurt Vonnegut describes a dark dystopia where automation has led to a world of meager consumption and desperate idleness. The vision of workers displaced by machines predates this though, and is perhaps most associated with the 19 th century Luddite movement where workers sabotaged machinery for fear of losing jobs. In economic thought, the prospect of labor-replacing technology has a still much longer history.

The opinion of most economists has been that “Luddite fears” are misplaced. New technology is economically synonymous with increased efficiency, new and cheaper products, […]

The definition of “maximum employment” needs updating

The definition of “maximum employment” needs updating

“IT IS fair to say the economy is near maximum employment,” said Janet Yellen, chairman of the Federal Reserve, in recent comments preparing markets for rate rises to come. But “maximum employment”, like pornography, is in the eye of the beholder. American adults, of whom only about 69% have a job, seem less than maximally employed. In previous eras, governments of countries scarred by economic hardship set themselves the goal of “full” employment. Today, the target is termed “maximum”. But it is the same concept. It needs a bit of updating.

Ms Yellen has a particular definition of maximum employment […]

Increased automation guarantees a bleak outlook for Trump’s promises to coal miners

Increased automation guarantees a bleak outlook for Trump’s promises to coal miners

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President Trump has made promises to make the coal industry great again, vowing to reverse decades of the industry’s downward employment trajectory. Here, we introduce another reason why coal will face an uphill battle: automation.

President Trump has made empty promises to make the coal industry great again, vowing to reverse decades of the industry’s downward employment trajectory. In previous blog posts (see here and here ), we have shown how his promises to put coal miners back to work will be a tall order. Here, we introduce another reason why coal will face an […]

Trump’s TPP pullout could hurt workers more than it helps

Trump's TPP pullout could hurt workers more than it helps

When he signed the executive order formally scrapping a trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim countries, President Donald Trump proclaimed the move a "great thing for the American worker."

But a chorus of trade experts and economists this week have argued that the pulling out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership will have exactly the opposite impact.

"Virtually all economic analyses of the proposed TPP … provided empirical arguments that the TPP would raise U.S. workers’ income, both for highly educated and less educated workers," according to Jeffrey Bergstrand, finance professor at the University of Notre Dame and a former Federal Reserve […]

The Case For Universal Basic Income

The Case For Universal Basic Income

When the government provides a basic income to all citizens of the country without any conditions attached, it is termed as universal basic income. It is a form of social security. There is increasing debate in the developed countries about the introduction of Universal Basic Income.

The combination of four factors, globalization, outsourcing, automaton, and the increasing adaptation and use of artificial intelligence is taking a growing toll on the low-income and middle-class sections of the society in developed countries, which is prompting the debate for the introduction of universal basic income.

In Canada, manufacturing employment has decreased. According to Statistics […]

To Fix Employment, Fix Automation—The Real Job Killer Of Our Age

To Fix Employment, Fix Automation—The Real Job Killer Of Our Age

Even if a job can’t be fully automated, 60% of jobs could have 30% of their tasks automated. President Trump likes to blame trade, immigration, and over-regulation for job losses in the American heartland. But that’s generally not how economists see it. They say machines are a more important reason why companies don’t employ people like they used to. In several industries, like steel, industrial output is as high as it’s always been . It’s just that manufacturers need less labor to do the work. "Almost 88 percent of job losses in manufacturing in recent years can be attributable […]

Work in an Automated Future

Work in an Automated Future

LONDON – Disruptive technologies are now dictating our future, as new innovations increasingly blur the lines between physical, digital, and biological realms. Robots are already in our operating rooms and fast-food restaurants; we can now use 3D imaging and stem-cell extraction to grow human bones from a patient’s own cells; and 3D printing is creating a circular economy in which we can use and then reuse raw materials.

This tsunami of technological innovation will continue to change profoundly how we live and work, and how our societies operate. In what is now called the Fourth Industrial Revolution , technologies that […]

51% of all job tasks could be automated by today’s technology

Automation in the workplace has been one of the looming existential threats to American workers for years now. And with each new study published, the fear of robots, machines, and artificial intelligence coming to take our jobs ticks higher.

But a new report from McKinsey finds that the future of work and automation isn’t quite the zero-sum game when it comes to jobs as some perceive.

Right now, 51% of job activities could be automated with “currently demonstrated” technology, the McKinsey report says. The distinction is noteworthy: McKinsey isn’t saying half of all jobs can be automated with existing technology, but […]

Call to Create Jobs, or Else, Tests Trump’s Sway

Call to Create Jobs, or Else, Tests Trump’s Sway

President Trump summoned the titans of American business to the White House on Monday for what was billed as a “listening session,” but it was the new president who delivered the loudest message: Bring back domestic manufacturing jobs, or face punishing tariffs and other penalties.

The contrast between Mr. Trump’s talk and the actual behavior of corporate America, however, underscored the tectonic forces he was fighting in trying to put his blue-collar base back to work in a sector that has been shedding jobs for decades.

Many of the chief executives Mr. Trump met with have slashed domestic employment in recent […]

Will Automation Take Away Job In Singapore?

Will Automation Take Away Job In Singapore?

It wasn’t so long ago when Singaporeans were lamenting that foreign talents are taking away their jobs.

Senior managements of MNCs were staffed with expatriates from the home country and Changi Business Park was given the dubious title of “Changalore Business Park”.

About 4 years ago, the government listened to the ground sentiment and tightened the quota to hire foreign talents in hope to maintain social harmony.Fast forward to 2017, we are soon going to be lamenting another type of “talents” taking away our jobs.And you can say it to their face – they won’t get offended. Enter the robot era […]