This paper addresses, both theoretically and empirically, the sectoral patterns of job creation and job destruction in order to distinguish the alternative effects of embodied vs disembodied technological change operating into a vertically connected economy. Disembodied technological change turns out to positively affect employment dynamics in the "upstream'' sectors, while expansionary investment does so in the "downstream'' industries. Conversely, the replacement of obsolete capital vintages tends to exert a negative impact on labour demand, although this effect turns out to be statistically less robust.

This report addresses a number of issues that have surfaced in the debates over the impact of technological change on employment. These issues include the effects of technological change on levels of employment and unemployment within the economy; on the displacement of workers in specific industries or sectors of the economy; on skill requirements; on the welfare of women, minorities, and labor force entrants in a technologically transformed economy; and on the organization of the firm and the workplace. It concludes that technological change will contribute significantly to growth in employment opportunities and wages, although workers in specific occupations and industries may have to move among jobs and careers. Recommends initiatives and options to assist workers in making such transitions. ISBN 0-309-03744-1 (pbk.).

In recent years, rapid technological progress has led to a wholesale destruction of middle-level jobs and a substantial rise in income inequality. It could also bring an era of high structural unemployment. These impacts constitute a major challenge that cannot be ignored by policymakers. They affect the fundamentals of our labor market – and might severely shake the social structure and stability of our society. This new report examines the impacts of technology on the European labor market. The report documents that technological innovation brings not only immense benefits but also significant dislocations in the labor market by making many jobs redundant. HCSS calls upon policymakers to take the risks of job polarization, increased inequality and potentially high technological unemployment quite seriously and suggests some policy measures that could mitigate these risks.The study was conducted in the context of the TNO Strategy & Change program. To download the report, please click on the button on the right.

Job desplacement; The employment and labor market adjustment: evidence from the displaced worker surveys; Technological change and the extent of frictional and structural unemployment; The effects of technological change on skills and the distribution of earnings and income; Sectoral patterns of technology adoption; Trade, tax, and diffusion policy issues.

Study of the future impact of technological change on employment and its implications for postindustrial society - considers unemployment trends, and the potential of the industrial sector, service sector and public sector for employment creation; claims that economic growth and higher productivity will not ensure full employment; argues for a work attitude that dissociates income from work, and for employment policies, fiscal policies and subsidies to expand employment opportunity; draws examples from the UK. References, statistical tables.