DOCSLIB.ORG

The Rise of the Machines How Computers Have Changed Work

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Rise of the Machines How Computers Have Changed Work UBS Center The Rise of the Public Paper #4 Machines How Computers Have Changed Work David Dorn No. 4, December 2015 UBS Center Public Paper The Rise of the Machines: How Computers Have Changed Work Contents 3 About the Author Abstract 4 Introduction 5 Is Technological Development Just Beginning or About to End? 8 Drawing on Past Experience: A Short History of Technological Change in Textile Production 12 The Computer Revolution: Renewed Fears about the Automation of Work 14 Computers in Economic Theory: Skill-Biased vs Task-Biased Technological Change 17 Labor Market Polarization 21 Technology versus Globalization 24 How Can Workers Succeed in a Computerized Labor Market? 26 Will the Lessons of the Past Remain Relevant in the Future? 28 Conclusions 29 References 31 Edition About Us 2 About the Author Abstract The so-called “Rise of the Machines” has Prof. David Dorn fundamentally transformed the organiza- tion of work during the last four decades. While enthusiasts are captivated by the new technologies, many worry that these machines will eventually lead to mass unemployment, as robots and computers substitute for human labor. This Public Paper shows that these con- cerns are likely to be exaggerated. Despite rapid technological progress and automa- – Professor at the Department of Economics, tion, unemployment has not dramatically University of Zurich expanded over time. Instead, employment – Affiliated Professor at the UBS Center shifted from the most highly automated sectors to other sectors that experienced Contact [email protected] less technological progress, as well as emerging sectors that were created by new technology. David Dorn is Professor of International Trade and Labor Markets at the University of Zurich and Affil- While computers have little impact on iated Professor at the UBS Center. He was previously overall employment, however, they con- a tenured Associate Professor at the Center for Mon- tribute to rising inequality. Machines etary and Financial Studies (CEMFI) in Madrid, a have overtaken humans in their capability Visiting Professor at Harvard University, and a Visit- to execute well-defined routine tasks pre- ing Scholar at Boston University, MIT, and the Uni- cisely, and many of the production and versity of Chicago. clerical jobs that specialize in these tasks have been irreversibly lost. As a result, the His research connects the fields of labor economics, employment structure of labor markets in international trade, economic geography, and mac- developed countries has become increas- roeconomics. In particular, he studies how globali- ingly polarized as employment concen- zation and technology affect labor markets. trates in a set of highly paid and a set of lowly paid occupations, both of which are Professor Dorn is a Research Fellow of the Centre for difficult to automate. Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London, the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, and As computerization changes the composi- the Center for Economic Studies/ifo Institute (CESifo) tion of human labor rather than decreas- in Munich. He is on the Editorial Board of The Re- ing its overall amount, policymakers view of Economic Studies, and an Associate Editor of should not be primarily concerned about the Journal of the European Economic Association. mass unemployment. Instead, the more immanent policy challenges caused by His research on the labor market impacts of techno- computerization result from changing logy was funded in part by the Swiss National Science skill demands in the labor market and ris- Foundation (SNSF) and the Spanish Ministry of ing economic inequality among workers. Science and Innovation. 3 UBS Center Public Paper The Rise of the Machines: How Computers Have Changed Work Introduction The first fifteen years of the 21st century This essay discusses the impact of tech- have been a difficult period for workers nology on the labor markets in devel- in developed economies. In many oped countries. It argues that an wealthy European, North American, and imminent large decline in the demand for East Asian countries, the share of popu- human labor is far from certain, and that lation holding a job has declined, and speculation about the long-term evolu- wage growth for the average worker has tion of employment is inherently diffi- slowed or even turned negative. The cult. However, there are already “Great Recession” of the years 2007– hundreds of years of experience regard- 2009 is to blame for an important part ing the technological change of the past, of this decline in workers’ fortunes. and researchers have been able to study However, the employment rate in the the impact of computer technology on United States had already been falling for the labor market for several decades. I several years prior to this crisis, and argue that the evidence from the distant labor markets in many countries and recent past reveals recurring pat- remained depressed for a remarkably terns, which may usefully guide expecta- long time after the recession had offi- tions about technology’s impact on labor cially ended.1 New evidence also suggests markets in the near future. that the fraction of national income obtained by workers has been declining for at least three decades in developed countries.2 It is therefore natural to hypothesize that labor markets are not just in a temporary slump, but instead face a fundamental force that increasingly deteriorates work- ers’ outlook for finding a job. Computer technology is an obvious candidate for that role. Whether one enters an office building or a factory, the widespread use of personal computers, communication devices, computer-guided machines, and robots is a striking feature of the work- place of the 21st century. Computer technology often replaces work tasks that humans previously executed, and one thus wonders whether continued technological development will eventu- ally lead to the obsolescence of most human labor. 4 Is Technological Development Just Beginning or About to End? Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of Fairchild computing operations has been falling Semiconductor and Intel Corporation, spectacularly since the 1950s (Figure 1).3 predicted in 1975 that technological prog- ress in the semiconductor industry would Computers are not only becoming cheaper allow a doubling in the number of elec- and more powerful, but also more versa- tronic components per microchip every tile. New applications in areas such as two years, thus leading to rapid progress machine learning, artificial intelligence, in computer processing power. This pre- and mobile robotics hold great promise diction, which became known as for expanding the use of computer tech- “Moore’s Law,” has held up remarkably nology to an ever-wider set of tasks. One well since then. The dramatic progress in of the most publicized innovations in semiconductor technology led to great recent years is the self-driving car, which performance improvements in many elec- may profoundly reshape ground transpor- tronic devices, and to rapidly declining tation in the 21st century. prices of computing equipment. Data compiled by the economist William Nord- Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, haus indicates that the cost per million two scholars at the MIT Sloan Business Fig. 1 Evolution of cost per computing operation (1850–2010) In $ 1,000,000 10,000 100 1 0.01 0.0001 0.000001 0.00000001 1850 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990 2010 Manual Mechanical Vacuum Transistor Microprocessor Note: The costs represent $ per million standardized computing operations per second (MSOPS). Source: Nordhaus (2001) 5 UBS Center Public Paper The Rise of the Machines: How Computers Have Changed Work School, argue that the rapid fall in com- electricity and the development of a pan- puter prices and the wider applicability oply of electrical devices; the invention of of computer technology are heralding a the internal combustion engine which “Second Machine Age” that will trans- revolutionized transportation; a great form the economies of developed coun- improvement in sanitary and living con- tries to an even greater degree than the ditions due to running water, indoor Industrial Revolution.4 As ever-cheaper plumbing, and central heating; the ability robots are able to execute an ever-greater to rearrange molecules which permitted range of tasks, firms will only hold on to great progress in the development of workers as long as a machine cannot exe- pharmaceuticals, plastics, and other cute their jobs more cheaply. The result is chemical products; and the introduction enormous downward pressure on work- of major communication and entertain- ers’ wages, and as these wages fall below ment technology, following the invention a reservation level—the minimum level of of the telephone, the phonograph, pho- wages that makes it worthwhile for peo- tography, radio, and motion pictures ple to hold a job—a rapidly growing pool within a span of just fifteen years. of unemployed individuals will form. Annual growth of U.S. GDP per capita A technology-driven disappearance of accelerated during the Great Innovation most employment opportunities will pro- period, and peaked at a 2.5% average foundly change society, and will require a gain per year between 1950 and the onset new organization of many public institu- of the oil crisis in 1973. In the four tions. Despite the chilling outlook of mass decades since, average annual GDP unemployment, the Second Machine Age growth has been one-third lower at 1.6% will not only produce losers, however. per year. While annual growth even The widespread use of cheap robots in exceeded 4% in the ten years during the production will lower production costs, 1950–1973 period, such a high growth and the resulting productivity increase rate has never again been attained during raises aggregate societal wealth. However, the last thirty years. This slowdown in these gains are likely to be concentrated economic growth is not unique to the among a small group of owners of com- United States, but it is even more pro- puter capital, while a much larger fraction nounced in Japan and in the major Euro- of the society will suffer from the loss of pean economies.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Fall 2021 Conference the Brookings Institution Thursday, September 9, 2021 All Times Are in Eastern Time
    Fall 2021 Conference The Brookings Institution Thursday, September 9, 2021 All times are in Eastern Time. Registration page: https://www.brookings.edu/events/bpea-fall-2021-conference/ 10:00 AM The Employment Impact of a Green Fiscal Push: Evidence from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Authors: Ziqiao Chen (Syracuse University); Giovanni Marin (University of Urbino Carlo Bo); David Popp (Syracuse University); and Francesco Vona (OFCE Sciences-Po) Discussants: Gabriel Chodorow-Reich (Harvard University); and Valerie Ramey (University of California, San Diego) 11:00 AM Break 11:05 AM The Economic Gains from Equity Authors: Shelby Buckman (Stanford University), Laura Choi (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco), Mary Daly (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco), and Lily Seitelman (Boston University) Discussants: Nicole Fortin (University of British Columbia); and Erik Hurst (Chicago Booth School of Business) 12:05 PM Break 12:10 PM Government and Private Household Debt Relief During COVID-19 Authors: Susan Cherry (Stanford Graduate School of Business); Erica Jiang (University of Southern California); Gregor Matvos (Northwestern University); Tomasz Piskorski (Columbia Business School); and Amit Seru (Stanford Graduate School of Business) Discussants: Pascal Noel (Chicago Booth School of Business); and Susan Wachter (University of Pennsylvania Wharton School) 1:10 PM Lunch Break 2:00 PM The Social Cost of Carbon: Advances in Long-term Probabilistic Projections of Population, GDP, Emissions, and Discount Rates Authors: David Anthoff
    [Show full text]
  • 2020-Final-Report4.Pdf
    The Work of the Future: Building Better Jobs in an Age of Intelligent Machines 2020 By David Autor, David Mindell, and Elisabeth Reynolds MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future DAVID AUTOR, TASK FORCE CO-CHAIR Ford Professor of Economics, Margaret MacVicar Fellow, and Associate Department Head Labor Studies Program Co-Director, National Bureau of Economic Research DAVID MINDELL, TASK FORCE CO-CHAIR Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing Founder and CEO, Humatics Corporation ELISABETH REYNOLDS, TASK FORCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Principal Research Scientist Executive, Director, MIT Industrial Performance Center Lecturer, Department of Urban Studies and Planning Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 2.0 LABOR MARKETSAND GROWTH 7 2.1 Two Faces of Technological Change: Task Automation and New Work Creation 8 Figure 1. The Fraction of Adults in Paid Employment Has Risen for Most of the Past 125 Years 9 Figure 2. More Than 60% of Jobs Done in 2018 Had Not Yet Been “Invented” in 1940 10 Table 1. Examples of New Occupations Added to the U.S. Census Between 1940 and 2018 12 2.2 Rising Inequality and the Great Divergence 13 Figure 3. Real Wages Have Risen for College Graduates and Fallen for Workers with High School Degree or Less Since 1980 14 Figure 4. Productivity and Compensation Growth in the United States, 1948 – 2016 15 Figure 5. Modest Median Wage Increases in the U.S. Since 1979 Were Concentrated Among White Men and Women 16 2.3 Employment Polarization and Diverging Job Quality 17 Figure 6.
    [Show full text]
  • Phd in Public Policy 1997–2019 Harvard Kennedy School Job Placement | Phd in Public Policy
    Harvard Kennedy School Job Placement PHD IN PUBLIC POLICY 1997–2019 HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL JOB PLACEMENT | PHD IN PUBLIC POLICY 2018–2019 Abraham Holland Gabriel Tourek Research Staff Member, Institute for Defense Analyses Post-Doctoral Associate, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Ariella Kahn-Lang Action Lab (J-PAL) Researcher, Human Services, Mathematica Bradley DeWees Jennifer Kao Assistant Director of Operations, United States Assistant Professor, Strategy Unit, UCLA Anderson Air Force School of Management Emily Mower Stephanie Majerowicz Senior Data Scientist, edX Assistant Professor of Government, Universidad Daniel Velez-Lopez de los Andes, Colombia; Post-Doctoral Research Lead Analyst, Venture Fellowship Program, Fellow, briq Institute on Behavior & Inequality National Grid Partners 2017–2018 Juan Pablo Chauvin Todd Gerarden Research Economist, Inter-American Assistant Professor, Cornell University, Dyson School Development Bank Sarika Gupta Cuicui Chen World Bank, YPP Assistant Professor, SUNY Albany, Department Alicia Harley of Economics Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Harvard Kennedy Stephen Coussens School, Sustainability Science Program Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Janhavi Nilekani Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health Founder of Aastar Raissa Fabregas Lisa Xu Assistant Professor, University of Texas Austin, Harvard Graduate Students Union— Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs United Auto Workers 2016–2017 Martin Abel Laura Quinby Assistant Professor, Middlebury College, Research Economist,
    [Show full text]
  • Wayward Sons: the Emerging Gender Gap in Labor Markets and Education 9 Figure 1B: Percent of Adults with Some College Education by Age 355
    WAYWARD SONS THE EMERGING GENDER GAP IN LABOR MARKETS AND EDUCATION David Autor and Melanie Wasserman WAYWARD SONS THE EMERGING GENDER GAP IN LABOR MARKETS AND EDUCATION t is widely assumed that the traditional male domination of post- secondary education, highly paid occupations, and elite professions is a virtually immutable fact of the U.S. economic landscape. But Iin reality, this landscape is undergoing a tectonic shift. Although a significant minority of males continues to reach the highest echelons of achievement in education and labor markets, the median male is moving in the opposite direction. Over the last three decades, the labor market trajectory of males in the U.S. has turned downward along four dimensions: skills acquisition; employment rates; occupational stature; and real wage levels. These emerging gender gaps suggest reason for concern. While the news for women is good, the news for men is poor. These gaps in educational attainment and labor market advancement will pose two significant challenges for social and economic policy. First, because education has become an increasingly important determinant of lifetime income over the last three decades—and, more concretely, because earnings and employment prospects for less-educated U.S. workers have sharply deteriorated—the stagnation of male educational attainment bodes ill for the well-being of recent cohorts of U.S. males, particularly minorities and those from low-income households. Recent cohorts of males are likely to face diminished employment and earnings opportunities and other attendant maladies, including poorer health, higher probability of incarceration, and generally lower life satisfaction. Of equal concern are the implications that diminished male labor market opportunities hold for the well-being of others—children and potential mates in particular.
    [Show full text]
  • Joshua D. Angrist (01/2021)
    Joshua D. Angrist (01/2021) Current Positions Ford Professor of Economics, MIT, from July 2008. Professor, MIT Economics Department, July 1998-2008. Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research, from 1994. Co-Director, MIT School Effectiveness and Inequality Initiative, from Fall 2011. Previous Positions Wesley Clair Mitchell Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, Columbia, Fall 2018. Visiting Professor, Harvard Lab for Economic Applications and Policy, 2011-12. Lady Davis Fellow, Hebrew University, 2004-05. Associate Professor, MIT Economics Department, 1996-98. Associate Professor, Hebrew University Economics Department, 1995-96. Visiting Associate Professor, MIT Economics Department, 1994-95. Senior Lecturer in Economics, Hebrew University Economics Department, 1991-95. Assistant Professor, Harvard University Economics Department, 1989-91. Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1989-94. Education Ph.D., Economics, Princeton University, October 1989. M.A., Economics, Princeton University, May 1987. B.A., Economics with Highest Honors, Oberlin College, June 1982. Teaching, Professional Service, and Public Service Teaching, Graduate Econometrics, Columbia, Fall 2018; Graduate and Undergraduate Labor Economics and Econometrics, MIT, 1994-95, 1996-2004, 2005-20; Graduate Econometrics and Graduate and Undergraduate Labor Economics, Hebrew University, 1991-96; Graduate Labor Economics and Undergraduate Econometrics courses, Harvard University, 1989-91. Referee, Addison-Wesley, American Economic Review,
    [Show full text]
  • Interview: Joshua Angrist
    INTERVIEW Joshua angrist On charter schools, the elite illusion, and the “Stones Age” of econometrics As a teenager growing up in Pittsburgh, Joshua Angrist became fed up with high school and said his goodbyes to it after his junior year. Today, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he’s a top researcher in labor economics and the economics of education — with work that includes a series of famed studies of policy choices for K-12 schooling. Much of his work has been based on ingenious “natu- ral experiments,” that is, episodes in which two or more groups of people were randomly exposed to different policies or different experiences. Such occurrences are an opportunity for Angrist and his co-authors to use the tools of econometrics to assess the effects of those differences — whether that’s a large classroom versus a small classroom or education at a charter school versus education at a conventional public school. Angrist’s first natural experiment looked at labor market outcomes for men who were drafted during the econometrics textbooks Mostly Harmless Econometrics: Vietnam War era compared with those of men who An Empiricist’s Companion (2009) and, for undergradu- weren’t drafted. The idea came to him from his labor ates, Mastering ‘Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect economics teacher and Ph.D. adviser at Princeton, Orley (2015). He also teaches econometrics in a series of Ashenfelter, who mentioned in class one day that he had free videos offered through the nonprofit Marginal seen a news article about a study in the New England Revolution University.
    [Show full text]
  • CV David Dorn.Pdf
    DAVID DORN MAY 2021 CONTACT INFORMATION University of Zurich Department of Economics, SOF H-24 Schoenberggasse 1, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland Phone: +41 44 634 6105 [email protected] http://www.ddorn.net ACADEMIC POSITIONS University of Zurich 2019– UBS Foundation Professor of Globalization and Labor Markets, Department of Economics 2021– Director, University Research Priority Program “Equality of Opportunity” 2014– Affiliated Professor, UBS Center for Economics in Society 2014–19 Professor for International Trade and Labor Markets, Department of Economics CEMFI Madrid 2013–16 Associate Professor of Economics (on leave 2014-2016) 2009–13 Assistant Professor of Economics Harvard University 2013 Visiting Professor, Department of Economics Boston University 2008–09 Visiting Scholar, Department of Economics Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 2007–08 Visiting Scholar, Department of Economics University of Chicago 2007 Visiting Scholar, Harris School of Public Policy Studies EDUCATION University of St. Gallen 2009 Ph.D. in Economics (Dr. oec.) 2004 M.Sc. in Economics (lic. oec. HSG) 2004 M.Sc. in International Management (CEMS-MIM) Swiss National Bank Study Center Gerzensee 2006 Swiss Program for Doctoral Students in Economics University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2004 Exchange Student, MBA Program ESADE Barcelona 2002 Exchange Student, lic/MBA Program DAVID DORN PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND HONORS 2020–21 Member of Evaluation Panel SH1 for the 2020 ERC Advanced Grants 2020 Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher 2020–21 Member
    [Show full text]
  • Polanyi's Paradox and the Shape of Employment Growth
    NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES POLANYI’S PARADOX AND THE SHAPE OF EMPLOYMENT GROWTH David Autor Working Paper 20485 http://www.nber.org/papers/w20485 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 September 2014 This paper is a draft prepared for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s economic policy symposium on “Re-Evaluating Labor Market Dynamics,” August 21-23 2014, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I thank Erik Brynjolfsson, Chris Foote, Frank Levy, Lisa Lynch, Andrew McAfee, Brendan Price, Seth Teller, Dave Wessel, and participants in the MIT CSAIL/Economists Lunch Seminar for insights that helped to shape the paper. I thank Sookyo Jeong and Brendan Price for superb research assistance. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer- reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. © 2014 by David Autor. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. Polanyi’s Paradox and the Shape of Employment Growth David Autor NBER Working Paper No. 20485 September 2014 JEL No. J23,J24,J31,O3 ABSTRACT In 1966, the philosopher Michael Polanyi observed, “We can know more than we can tell... The skill of a driver cannot be replaced by a thorough schooling in the theory of the motorcar; the knowledge I have of my own body differs altogether from the knowledge of its physiology.” Polanyi’s observation largely predates the computer era, but the paradox he identified—that our tacit knowledge of how the world works often exceeds our explicit understanding—foretells much of the history of computerization over the past five decades.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms∗
    The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms∗ David Autor, MIT and NBER David Dorn, University of Zurich and CEPR Lawrence F. Katz, Harvard University and NBER Christina Patterson, Chicago Booth and NBER John Van Reenen, MIT and NBER October 2019 Quarterly Journal of Economics, Forthcoming Abstract The fall of labor's share of GDP in the United States and many other countries in recent decades is well documented but its causes remain uncertain. Existing empirical assessments typically rely on industry or macro data, obscuring heterogeneity among firms. In this paper, we analyze micro panel data from the U.S. Economic Census since 1982 and document empirical patterns to assess a new interpretation of the fall in the labor share based on the rise of \superstar firms.” If globalization or technological changes push sales towards the most productive firms in each industry, product market concentration will rise as industries become increasingly dominated by superstar firms, which have high markups and a low labor share of value-added. We empirically assess seven predictions of this hypothesis: (i) industry sales will increasingly concentrate in a small number of firms; (ii) industries where concentration rises most will have the largest declines in the labor share; (iii) the fall in the labor share will be driven largely by reallocation rather than a fall in the unweighted mean labor share across all firms; (iv) the between-firm reallocation component of the fall in the labor share will be greatest in the sectors with the largest increases in market concentration; (v) the industries that are becoming more concentrated will exhibit faster growth of productivity; (vi) the aggregate markup will rise more than the typical firm’s markup; and (vii) these patterns should be observed not only in U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • MICHAEL B. WONG MIT Department of Economics 77 Massachusetts
    MICHAEL B. WONG OFFICE CONTACT INFORMATION HOME CONTACT INFORMATION MIT Department of Economics 70 Josephine Avenue, Apt 1 77 Massachusetts Avenue, E52-301 Somerville, MA 02144 Cambridge, MA 02139 Mobile: 857-389-9303 [email protected] http://economics.mit.edu/grad/mbwong MIT PLACEMENT OFFICER MIT PLACEMENT ADMINISTRATOR Professor Ricardo Caballero Ms. Julia Martyn-Shah [email protected] [email protected] 617-253-0489 617-253-8787 DOCTORAL Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) STUDIES PhD, Economics, Expected completion June 2022 DISSERTATION: “Essays on Domestic Outsourcing” DISSERTATION COMMITTEE AND REFERENCES Professor David Autor Professor John Van Reenen MIT Department of Economics LSE Department of Economics 77 Massachusetts Avenue, E52-438 Houghton Street, Room 32L.2.27A Cambridge, MA 02139 London, WC2A 2AE, UK 617-258-7698 +44 (0) 20 7955 6856 [email protected] [email protected] Professor Robert Townsend Professor Robert Gibbons MIT Department of Economics MIT Sloan School of Management 77 Massachusetts Avenue, E52-538 100 Main Street, E62-519 Cambridge, MA 02139 Cambridge, MA 02142-1347 617-452-3722 617-253-0283 [email protected] [email protected] PRIOR Harvard University 2012 EDUCATION A.b, Magna Cum Laude with Highest Distinction in Physics Minor in Computer Science CITIZENSHIP USA LANGUAGES Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese FIELDS Primary Fields: Labor Economics; Organizational Economics Secondary Field: Monetary Economics TEACHING Intermediate Microeconomic Theory (MIT 14.04, undergrad) 2018-20 EXPERIENCE Teaching Assistant to Prof. Robert Townsend Applied Economics for Managers (MIT 15.722, exec MbA), 2019 Teaching Assistant to Prof. Robert Gibbons MICHAEL WONG 25 SEPTEMBER 2021-- PAGE 2 Organizational Economics (MIT 14.282, graduate), 2018 Teaching Assistant to Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • 14.661 Labor Economics I Staff: Instructors: Parag Pathak, E52-426
    14.661 Labor Economics I Staff: Instructors: Parag Pathak, E52-426, [email protected]; Daron Acemoglu, E52-446, [email protected] Teaching fellow: Clemence Idoux, [email protected] Logistics: Two lectures per week on Tuesday and Thursday from 10:30-12pm in E51-395 Recitations: Fridays, location TBA Pathak begins on 9/6/2018 and ends 10/23/2018 Acemoglu begins on 10/25/2018 and ends 12/11/2018 Description: This is a graduate course in labor economics, appropriate for PhD students in the Department of Economics and other students with permission of the instructor. Pathak and Acemoglu split the fall semester. In the spring, Professors David Autor and Simon J¨agerteach Labor Economics II. The aim is to acquaint students with traditional topics and to encourage the development of inde- pendent research interests. The syllabus contains readings of two sorts. The first will be emphasized in lectures. Other readings may be discussed briefly, but are also listed as a guide to the literature. Students who are interested in pursuing research in labor economics are strongly encouraged to the attend the weekly Labor Economics student workshop, which meets on Tuesdays from 12:00- 1:00pm, the joint MIT Labor/Public Finance seminar in the Fall on Mondays from 4-5:30pm, and the Econ-Sloan Applied Microeconomics seminar which meets in the Spring. A Stellar website has readings, assignments, and recitation material. Course Materials: Working labor economists should have easy access to the following resources: • Ashenfelter, Orley and David Card (2010): Handbook of Labor Economics, Volumes 4A and 4B.
    [Show full text]
  • The Work of the Future: Shaping Technology and Institutions
    The Work of the Future: Shaping Technology and Institutions FALL 2019 REPORT MIT TASK FORCE ON THE WORK OF THE FUTURE MIT President Rafael Reif convened the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future in the spring of 2018. Its goals are to understand the relationships between emerg- ing technologies and work, and to explore strategies to enable a future of shared prosperity. The Task Force is co-chaired by Professors David Autor and David Min- dell, with Dr. Elisabeth Reynolds as Executive Director; its members include more than twenty faculty drawn from twelve departments, as well as a dozen graduate students. The Task Force has also been advised by boards of key stakeholders from industry, academia, education, labor and philanthropy. For the past year, the Task Force has been working to bring grounded, empirical understanding and insight into the ongoing debate about what is occurring today and what we can expect in the next decade. Alarmist rhetoric animates today’s public conversation about technology and work: Robots are taking our jobs. AI will mean the end of work. Three-fourths of all jobs will be automated. Prepare for mass unemployment. Robots can’t take your job if you’re retired. These forecasts may be unduly grim, but they reflect valid underlying concerns. Technological and economic shifts have created social pain in wide swaths of in- dustrialized economies. The last four decades of U.S. history showed that even if technological advances deliver rising productivity, there is no guarantee that the fruits of this bounty will reach the typical worker—and the uncertainty is great- er still for women and minorities.
    [Show full text]