Technology, Jobs, and Economic Growth – The Debate Continues
Princeton economist Paul Krugman on the factors driving rising
inequality:
“… One is that
technology has taken a turn that places labor at a disadvantage; the other is
that we’re looking at the effects of a sharp increase in monopoly power. Think
of these two stories as emphasizing robots on one side, robber barons on the
other.”
Harvard economist Ken Rogoff makes a good point:
“There
are certainly those who believe that the wellsprings of science are running
dry, and that, when one looks closely, the latest gadgets and ideas driving
global commerce are essentially derivative. But the vast majority of my
scientist colleagues at top universities seem awfully excited about their
projects in nanotechnology, neuroscience, and energy, among other cutting-edge
fields. They think they are changing the world at a pace as rapid as we have
ever seen. Frankly, when I think of stagnating innovation as an economist, I
worry about how overweening monopolies stifle ideas, and how recent changes
extending the validity of patents have exacerbated this problem.”