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Chapter 9: Bail-ins, Derivatives, & Employment
its new and novel device, the iPad. However, Apple
sold six million units on the first day while
revolutionizing the mobile device industry. All of these
events bring about change that alters the economy and
changes job opportunities.
A new study from the National Bureau of
Economic Research examined the impact of robots in
the workforce between 1990 and 2007. It found that one
robot led to the loss of 6.2 jobs within a commuting
zone where people travel to
work. The study found that
Automation leads to
robots have contributed to
an increase in jobs.
the loss of between 360,000
and 670,000 jobs. This job
loss occurred because the economy changed
structurally. But does automation necessarily lead to
unemployment? Is it a fact that the more robots we
have—the fewer the jobs? The answer is “no.” We can
have more jobs at the same time that we experience an
increase in unemployment. How is this possible? There
is a difference between a job opening and someone
filling the position.
Automation generates more jobs because of the
lower costs associated with it. A business would not
automate if the change did not lower costs. Lower costs
lead to lower prices, which lead to an increase in
consumer demand, which leads to an increase in sales,
which leads to an increase in production, which leads to
an increase in jobs. There may be unemployment in
some localities, but overall, there will be an increase in
job opportunities.
The kind of jobs lost are the low-skilled jobs
and the jobs generated are high-skilled jobs. So, the
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