Economy

• Two biggest charges of technology

  The information technology is killing jobs<|>It is widening the gap between the rich and the poor
• The contribution of technological advances to economic progress is steady, but the contribution to social progress is not purely positive
• Impact of automation on jobs

  1. Within-firm or -industry effects

  2. Cross-industry effects
• Within-firm or -industry effects

  • Displacement effect
  • Productivity effect
  • Reinstatement effect
• Cross-industry effects


  • Spillover effect
  • Income effect
• Aggregate impact on employment
• Findings of recent studies on the impact of automation on jobs


  • Frey and Rahbari 2016
  • Graetz and Michaels, forthcoming
  • UNCTAD 2017
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers 2017
  • McKinsey Global Institute 2017b
• Digital divide


  The gap between two groups in access to technology, can be economic, racial, age, or gender
• Where can digital divide exist

  • Geographical location (cities and rural areas)
  • Socio-economic groups
• Common types of digital divide


  • Infrastructure
  • Devices
  • Education
  • Defensive computing
  • Information security
  • Cost
  • Blocking
• The role of government in harnessing technology for workers

  • Pursue education reform and promote lifelong learning
  • Ensure labor market flexibility accompanied by programs that support the unemployed
  • Strengthen social protection systems
  • Implement tax policies to fund social protection and counter widening income inequality
  • Facilitate skills development, job-matching, and social protection with new technologies
  • Ensure new technologies develop in ways that benefit people and protect their rights
• Experts must be willing to continually upgrade their skills, specialize, and market themselves