Academic Press Automation and its Macroeconomic Consequences: Theory, Evidence, and Social Impacts

Automation and Its Macroeconomic Consequences reveals new ways to understand the economic characteristics of our increasing dependence on machines. Illuminating technical and social elements, it describes economic policies that could counteract negative income distribution consequences of automation without hampering the adoption of new technologies. Arguing that modern automation cannot be compared to the Industrial Revolution, it considers consequences of automation such as spatial patterns, urbanization, and regional concerns. In touching upon labor, growth, demographic, and policy, Automation and its Macroeconomic Consequences stands at the intersection of technology and economics, offering a comprehensive portrait illustrated by empirical observations and examples. Review Introduces the economic consequences of automation by examining its effects on long-term economic growth, employment, and inequality From the Back Cover Automation and its Macroeconomic Consequences reveals new ways to understand the economic characteristics of our increasing dependence on machines. Illuminating technical and social elements, it describes economic policies that could counteract negative income distribution consequences of automation without hampering the adoption of new technologies. Arguing that modern automation cannot be compared to the Industrial Revolution, it considers consequences of automation such as spatial patterns, urbanization, and regional concerns. In touching upon labor, growth, demographic, and policy, Automation and its Macroeconomic Consequences stands at the intersection of technology and economics, offering a comprehensive portrait illustrated by empirical observations and examples. About the Author Klaus Prettner is professor of economics with a focus on growth and distribution at the University of Hohenheim and speaker of the research network “Inequality and Economic Policy Analysis (INEPA). His main areas of interest are the economic consequences of automation and the interrelations between economic growth and inequality. Prettner received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Vienna in 2009. He has published his research in journals such as Journal of Monetary Economics, Economic Journal, Journal of Economic Growth, Journal of Health Economics, Research Policy, Journal of Urban Economics, Health Affairs, Economic Theory, Economica, and the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. David E. Bloom is Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics and Demography at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He is also Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and Research Fellow at IZA – Institute of Labor Economics. Bloom received a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in Economics and Demography from Princeton University in 1981. Bloom previously served on the public policy faculty at Carnegie-Mellon University and on the economics faculties at Harvard University and Columbia University. In recent years, he has written extensively on the links among health, education, population, and labor, and on economic valuation.