Economists have been loathe to discuss the possibility of machines displacing workers. The facile counterargument is that labour-saving innovation started with the industrial revolution, and subsequent labour-saving innovations coincided with rising employment. Few ever concede that technological innovation could eventually transition from labour-saving to labour-replacing.
Thankfully, that’s begun to change. Nobel laureate Paul Krugman recently reconsidered this long-held economic view.
As have others, including one of our new favourite economists, Tim Harford, whose page we discovered on this University of Toronto Library site (where this page is also linked – thanks).
The robots are coming and will terminate your jobs
Tim Harford, Financial Times December 31, 2013
