Are robots to blame for job polarization - Research Paper Example

This fact has become a common concern. It was revealed that such a change is caused by a number of factors, among which there are: globalization, active and open trade, change in legislation and, the first and the outmost – the development of technology. “Such a decline had implications for the distribution of incomes. Labor income is more evenly distributed across U.S. households than capital income, while a disproportionately large share of capital income accrues to the top income households.

As the share that is more evenly distributed declined and the share that is more concentrated at the top rose, total income became less evenly distributed and more concentrated at the top. As a result, total income inequality rose” (Jacobson and Occhino, 2012). That machines are able to replace living personnel, is a well-known fact. Many scientists state that rapid technological progress destroys workplaces much quicker, than creates new jobs. This causes the growth of inequality in the United States.

Such situation occurs in other developed states as well. This is disturbing news as it undermines the belief in technological progress. Technologies are still considered to be a tool that increases the productivity and makes the society richer, but it has a dark side at the same time: technical progress destroys the need for many types of labor and put the average worker in the worst conditions than before. Innovations have never come so quickly, the median income is falling, and there are fewer workplaces.

People cannot keep up with technologies, which are being improved so quickly that employees’ skills and organizational structures can’t keep up with the pace. The examples of how digital technologies threaten workplaces can be found everywhere. Automates have been applied in different production areas already for many years. Today in the United States and China fewer people than in 1997 are engaged in production due to automation. Automobile plants