“The Great Decoupling: An Interview with Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee” is a must-read Q&A from Harvard Business Review. I’ve written often about the two MIT academics and their work on labor markets and the impact of technological change. Two things from the HBR interview that I want to highlight. First, their explanation of the above “decoupling” chart is noteworthy in that they point out the macro-nature of the forces driving that chart. In other words, it’s not just or even mostly the lack of “worker voice” in the US:
HBR: Is the Great Decoupling happening only in the United States?
Brynjolfsson: No, similar trends are appearing in most developed countries. In Sweden, Finland, and Germany, for instance, income inequality has grown over the past 30 years, though not as high as it has in the United States.
The fact that the middle class has been hollowing out in country after country indicates that the decoupling isn’t due solely to changes in the social contract. Germany, Sweden, and the United States all have different views about capitalism, about how people should be treated, and so on. We’re not saying that social choices have no effect, and for that matter, we’re not saying that globalization has no effect, either. However, there seems to be a common underlying force that’s affecting all these countries. We think that force is technology.
Second, there’s a really great summing of what we need to do so human can flourish in this world of powerful digital technologies:
HBR: What kind of economic environment would make the best use of the new digital technologies?
McAfee: One that’s conducive to innovation, new business formation, and economic growth. To create it, we need to focus on five things:
The first is education. Primary and secondary education systems should be teaching relevant and valuable skills, which means things computers are not good at. These include creativity, interpersonal skills, and problem solving.
The second is infrastructure. World-class roads, airports, and networks are investments in the future and the foundations of growth.
Third, we need more entrepreneurship. Young businesses, especially fast-growing ones, are a prime source of new jobs. But most industries and regions are seeing fewer new companies than they did three decades ago.
A fourth focus is immigration. Many of the world’s most talented people come to America to build lives and careers, and there’s clear evidence that immigrant-founded companies have been great job-creation engines. The current policies in this area are far too restrictive, and our procedures are nightmarishly bureaucratic.
The fifth thing is basic research. Companies tend to concentrate on applied research, which means that the government has a role to play in supporting original early-stage research. Most of today’s tech marvels, from the internet to the smartphone, have a government program somewhere in their family tree. Funding for basic research in America, though, is on the decline: Both total and nondefense federal R&D spending, as percentages of GDP, have declined by more than a third since 1980. That must change.
Again, read the whole thing.
from AEI » Latest Content http://ift.tt/1ACqFZ3
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment