Synopsis 

Are we on the way to a world where robots do the work and humans devote their time to leisure activities?  This is certainly the future that many accounts such as The Second Machine Age would have us believe.  In this talk I’ll use evidence on recent labour market outcomes to assess how likely such a future seems.  I’ll describe the ways in which new technologies are having an effect on the labour market in Australia – on the demand for skilled workers, the composition of employment and earnings inequality.  I’ll also argue, however, that there is little evidence that new technology is reducing the total amount of work available in Australia.

About the speaker

Jeff Borland is Truby Williams Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne.  His main research interests are analysis of the operation of labour markets in Australia, program and policy evaluation and design, Australian economic history, and sports economics.  He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and in 2010 was the Visiting Professor of Australian Studies at Harvard University.  Jeff publishes a monthly ‘Snapshot’ on the Australian labour market at: https://sites.google.com/site/borlandjum/labour-market-snapshots