 Mechanization, Automation and the Labor MarketChapter Chapter 5 in Accelerating Economic Growth, 2022, pp 63-76 from Springer Abstract: Abstract What is the future of human work? Will robots take all our jobs? The hardware–software framework organizes the past evidence on long-run employment trends and offers interesting predictions for the future. The key dichotomy present in the framework underscores that very different implications should be expected whether machines replace human brawn (hardware) or brains (software), i.e., whether we are discussing mechanization of physical tasks or automation of cognitive tasks. Given that modern production processes are highly complex, it is also important whether automation is partial or full. Under partial automation, essential non-automated cognitive tasks are becoming scarce, boosting employment and wages in jobs that perform these tasks. Under full automation, in contrast, human cognitive work becomes substitutable with machines. Automation may gradually enter into all job categories, including also the jobs in research and development, potentially causing technological unemployment and increasing income inequality, while also potentially accelerating technological progress and economic growth. Date: 2022 There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it. Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:frochp:978-3-031-07195-9_5 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-07195-9_5 Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Frontiers in Economic History from Springer |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to econpapers@oru.se.
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.