Full Employment, New Technologies and the Distribution of Income

1984 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Meade
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
National Income ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Direct Taxation ◽  
Moderate Growth ◽  
Wage Increases ◽  
Distribution Of Income

ABSTRACTThe basic thesis of this paper is that a necessary condition for the re-establishment of full employment without a runaway inflation is a change of attitudes and institutions concerning wage-fixing which puts more emphasis on the effects of rates of pay on the expansion of employment opportunities and much less emphasis on their effects on the real incomes of those already in employment. A necessary condition for such changes would be to develop further fiscal and social welfare measures to promote an acceptable distribution of income. Unfortunately it is possible that two very desirable developments — namely, labour participation in decision-making in industry and the introduction of new technologies — may make this particular wage-fixing problem more, rather than less, acute. The reforms discussed to meet this problem cover: the use of Keynesian demand-management policies to keep the money national income on a steady but moderate growth path; measures to restrain the setting of monopolistic practices by trade unions; a system of national arbitration and a possible inflation tax to curb excessive wage increases; an integrated reconstruction of social benefits and direct taxation; the substitution of expenditure instead of income as the basis of a progressive direct tax; the possible introduction of an annual wealth tax; and the reform of capital transfer tax to fall progressively on the beneficiaries of gifts and bequests.

scholarly journals Understanding the UK’s productivity problems

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Lewis ◽  
Kate Bell
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Aggregate Demand ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Distribution Of Income

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature, causes and consequences of the UK’s productivity problems and whether these may be addressed through the new technologies of artificial intelligence (AI). Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the literature on productivity to explain how it relates to earnings within different theoretical frameworks, advocating a “power over rents” framework as most realistic. It explains the UK’s twin productivity problems and reviews their potential causes, critically assessing the capacity for new technologies of AI to address them. It highlights the enduring importance of distribution and the design of work to improving the UK’s productivity. Findings The authors find that the UK’s productivity problems will not be solved by AI technologies due to technical and socio-technical challenges which will require the significant re-design of work. The authors highlight the importance of aggregate demand, which has been inhibited by the shifting distribution of income towards capital and rising inequality of earnings. These issues suggest an important role for trade unions and a renewal of the institutions of employment regulation and collective bargaining. While reversing recent trends raises considerable challenges, the authors observe renewed interest in trade unions from previously hostile thinktanks and international institutions including the IMF and OECD. Originality/value This paper advocates adopting a “power over rents” theoretical framework to understanding productivity and the distribution of gains. This provides a clear rationale for the role of trade unions, employment regulation and collective bargaining in improving distributional outcomes, raising firm-level productivity and achieving real productivity growth at an aggregate level.

scholarly journals Social distancing in public transport: mobilising new technologies for demand management under the Covid-19 crisis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Hörcher ◽  
Ramandeep Singh ◽  
Daniel J. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Public Transport ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Single Point ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
New Information ◽  
Occupancy Rates

AbstractDense urban areas are especially hardly hit by the Covid-19 crisis due to the limited availability of public transport, one of the most efficient means of mass mobility. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, public transport operators are experiencing steep declines in demand and fare revenues due to the perceived risk of infection within vehicles and other facilities. The purpose of this paper is to explore the possibilities of implementing social distancing in public transport in line with epidemiological advice. Social distancing requires effective demand management to keep vehicle occupancy rates under a predefined threshold, both spatially and temporally. We review the literature of five demand management methods enabled by new information and ticketing technologies: (i) inflow control with queueing, (ii) time and space dependent pricing, (iii) capacity reservation with advance booking, (iv) slot auctioning, and (v) tradeable travel permit schemes. Thus the paper collects the relevant literature into a single point of reference, and provides interpretation from the viewpoint of practical applicability during and after the pandemic.

scholarly journals Extreme Inequality: Evidence from Brazil, India, the Middle East, and South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 119-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Assouad ◽  
Lucas Chancel ◽  
Marc Morgan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Middle East ◽  
National Income ◽  
Household Surveys ◽  
National Accounts ◽  
Social Segregation ◽  
New Findings ◽  
The World ◽  
Modern Economic ◽  
Distribution Of Income

This paper presents new findings about inequality dynamics in Brazil, India, the Middle East, and South Africa from the World Inequality Database (WID.world). We combine tax data, household surveys, and national accounts in a systematic manner to produce estimates of the distribution of income, using concepts coherent with macroeconomic national accounts. We document an extreme level of inequality in these regions, with top 10 percent income shares above 50 percent of national income. These societies are characterized by a dual social structure, with an extremely rich group at the top, whose income levels are broadly comparable to their counterparts in high-income countries, and a much poorer mass of the population below top groups. We discuss the diversity of regional contexts and highlight two explanations for the levels observed: the historical legacy of social segregation and modern economic institutions and policies.

40 Jahre Stabilitäts- und Wachstumsgesetz. Theoretische Analyse und statistische Evaluation einer verfassungsökonomischen Innovation

2008 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinz Grossekettler
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Wage Policy ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis paper considers the impact over time of the German “Economic Growth and Stability Law”, which had its 40th anniversary on the 6th June, 2007. After looking at the history and development of the law and the associated expectations, the intended functions are analysed critically. Inappropriate use of the law is analysed from the perspective of public choice, as well as the insufficient consideration of reaction delays and, above all, the underestimation of the role of expectations. Furthermore, attention is paid to the fact that planning and coordination problems have not been satisfactorily resolved. A comparison with a control group from major European countries is then used to determine whether one can talk meaningfully in the German context of particular success stories in countering fluctuations in business cycles, the development of governmental debt and of legal objectives with respect to “price level stability”, “high levels of employment”, “current account equilibrium” and “satisfactory economic growth”. It becomes evident that government debt and unemployment have risen more in Germany and that growth rates have declined more sharply than in the countries on which the comparison is based. After discussing the hypotheses for explaining the weak German growth, growth accounting demonstrates that changes in the demographic structure, the substantial shortening of working hours and early retirement, blunders in the reunification process and an aggressive wage policy on the part of trade unions, particularly in the seventies, are the main reasons for low growth. This wage policy was triggered by the expectation of the trade unions that, with the aid of the Stability and Growth Law, the state would ensure full employment. In reality, however, the wage policy led to a reduced rate of investment and growth. This process could only be terminated by the restrained wage policy of the past few years.

From the Golden to the Dark Decade, From Reforms to Isms and Ologies

1980 ◽  
Vol 15 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 457-470
Author(s):  
John Pinder
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Demand Management ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Applied Social Science ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Welfare State

THE 1950s WERE A WONDERFUL DECADE FOR APPLIED SOCIAL science: for the belief that reason addressed to economic and social problems can improve the human condition. Compare the 1950s with the 1930s and ask how much of the improvement was due to Keynes and Beveridge. It is inevitable that a generation of debunkers should follow whose answer would be ‘not much’. But that would have seemed a strange conclusion in the 1950s; and the view of the 1950s was surely right. We had full employment in place of 10 per cent unemployment in the 1920s and nearly 15 per cent in the 1930s; and after the first years of post-war reconstruction, it was reasonable to attribute this to Keynesian demand management. We had a safety net through which relatively few fell into poverty; and this was Beveridge's social security and the welfare state.

Social protests, discontent and politics in southern and eastern Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria da Paz Campos Lima ◽  
Antonio Martín Artiles
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Social Protests

Taking into consideration the debate on the role of social movements and of trade unions in organising social protests, in the light of contentious and conventional politics, this article examines participation in demonstrations in Europe and the political attitudes of the participants. The article uses data from the European Social Survey to examine the differences and similarities between European countries in respect of mobilisation levels over the past decade, arguing that distrust and dissatisfaction with political institutions might be a necessary condition but not a sufficient one to justify resorting to contentious politics. The article reveals the contrasts between the levels of mobilisation in southern European countries (Portugal and Spain) and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Hungary and Poland) and examines the patterns and (re)configuration of the profile of the protestors in the 2002–2014 period.

scholarly journals The Phenomenon of Digital Labour Platforms

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-229
Author(s):  
Andrzej Marian Świątkowski
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Right ◽  
Almost All

In all EU Member States the status of people employed on job platforms is not fully legally regulated. It is necessary to consider the sources of the contemporary phenomenon of electronic employment, which is not amenable to legal regulation in the Union constituting an “area of freedom, security and justice with respect for fundamental rights” (Art. 67 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). The right to work in decent conditions, with adequate remuneration, belongs to this category of rights. In the discussion on employment platforms state authorities are more inclined to consider issues related to new technologies, processes and changes caused by the development and application of modern digital technologies (digitization) in almost all areas. The headquarters of trade unions mainly discuss the legal position of employees and the role of employment platforms in employment relations in the post-industrial era. Entrepreneurs and their organizations, including private institutions and employment platforms, are interested in equal treatment by national legislators in local labour markets. They are afraid of the breach of the balance favorable to their own economic interests, caused by the public interest in the possibility of using employment in atypical forms of employment. Services consisting in employment provided under employment platforms are incomparably cheaper than identical work performed by employees employed under employment contracts.

scholarly journals Foreign Capital Inflow, Technology Transfer, and National Income

2001 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarbajit Chaudhuri
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Open Economy ◽  
Foreign Capital ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Small Open Economy ◽  
National Income ◽  
Capital Inflow ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Export Sector ◽  
Output Ratio

According to Jones and Marjit (1992), in a two-sector, full-employment model it is not possible to show that growth in the foreign capital employed in the export sector of a small open economy will lead to a fall in the welfare in the presence of a protected import-competing sector. In this short paper, we have shown that one may get the immiserising result even in this framework if the inflow of foreign capital into the export sector is accompanied by technology transfer, which leads to a fall in the labour-output ratio in this sector.

Grafters, not shirkers: reserved men at work

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Pattinson ◽  
Arthur Mcivor ◽  
Linsey Robb
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Personal Narratives ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Experience Good

This chapter reconstructs the working lives of reserved men during wartime, drawing upon a wide range of sources, including oral testimonies and autobiographies. It contrasts this with the 1930s Depression. Whilst work experience varied widely across reserved occupations during wartime, what comes through the evidence is a pervasive intensification of work and a deep commitment to work as patriotic endeavour, commonly expressed in what we term ‘graft and sacrifice narratives’. In critically examining the emasculation thesis through the prism of lived experience, daily working lives and personal narratives the chapter concludes that civilian male identities in wartime were complex and contested. Young reserved workers may well have felt the cultural censure and slight on their manhood which went along with not being in uniform. However, with full employment, demand for industrial skills and experience, good wages and empowered trade unions there were many ways that reserved men could maintain and reconstruct breadwinner masculinity and position themselves discursively as superior to women through their wartime work.

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