In the short run, one could probably identify is some relationship between recent technological change and employment. Making a long-term case seems more complex, because of an enormous number of intervening phenomena.
On Sat, May 10, 2008 at 02:28:38PM -0400, Gernot Koehler wrote: > > commenting > on the Gene-and-Doug exchange > > > > The World > Employment Report 2004-05 (by ILO) concludes that increases in aggregate > productivity may have negative effects on aggregate employment in the * short > and medium term * and positive > effects in the * long term *. In the > short run, ?wariness [sc. by workers] over the impact of productivity growth > is > roundly justified, and the concern is even greater in today?s world of growing > interdependence.? However, ?(i)n the longer term, there is no necessary > trade-off between the growth of productivity and that of employment.? (p6) > They > support that statement by historical example, e.g., the long-term development > in England from the 19th century to the present, and by > multinational statistics for the period 1980 ? 2000 (p91). > > > > There is a bit of cognitive dissonance in that, to say the least. > GK > > > > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Subject: Re: [Pen-l] job creation - beyond slave > auction > > From: Doug Henwood > > Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 > > > > On May 7, 2008, at 11:02 PM, Eugene Coyle wrote: > > > > > > Technological progress destroys, doesn't > create jobs. > > > > > > It can > destroy jobs or create them. Railroads, cars, telephones, airplanes, and > computers all created far more jobs than they destroyed. The railroad made the > buggy whip paradigmatic for technological obsolescence, but the job loss was > dwarfed by the number of workers needed to build and staff railroads, not to > mention all the secondary effects of all the jobs the railroad created. > > Doug > _________________________________________________________________ > If you like crossword puzzles, then you'll love Flexicon, a game which > combines four overlapping crossword puzzles into one! > http://g.msn.ca/ca55/208 > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
