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That's not what the article says. Its thesis is that automation of an industry first increases employment in it, and finally decreases it. This is because ear
by unchocked 8y ago
That's not what the article says.
Its thesis is that automation of an industry first increases employment in it, and finally decreases it.
This is because early stages of automation reduce very high costs to a manageable level, increasing demand and increasing employment despite increased efficiency.
Later stages of automation reduce already low costs, so demand does not increase much and the efficiency gains translate to reduced employment.
- cimmanom 8y agoIt’s also possible to reach market saturation regardless of price point. Even if a meal costs less than 1 cent and even if that’s all anyone eats, you’re going to have a really tough time getting fast food sales to exceed around 3-4 meals per day for every person on the planet. How many mattresses can a person use? How many pairs of scissors do you keep in your home, and how often do you replace them? How many haircuts would you get per month if they were free? How many root canals? Lowering prices may increase demand, but at some point, the concept of demand increase becomes ludicrous.