Mr. Jim McFarlane, UNE Business School

Seminar Title:  Is Technological Unemployment in Australia a Reason for Concern?

The UNEBS R&RT Committee cordially invites you to attend to Mr. Jim McFarlane’s Seminar. The session will be held on Friday 2nd October in Lecture Theatre 5, W39 in EBL Building at 10:30AM.

Abstract

Technological unemployment refers to the loss of jobs associated with technological change and is far from being a new phenomenon. The fact that adjustments in structural employment occur in response to technological change is unquestioned however controversy exists as to whether long lasting unemployment is consequence of technological progress and the substitution of capital for labour. Two main schools of thought preside over this debate. One view is that productivity gains lead to higher incomes which in turn generates new jobs in response to greater demand for new goods and services. Hence, structural unemployment associated with technological change is short-term. Those harbouring the opposing view have been broadly labelled as “Luddites”. Modern day proponents advocate that the rapid rate of technological progress is conducive to the possibility of long-term unemployment. Could the Luddites be right? Are we headed into a period of automation not yet witnessed? This seminar explores whether technological unemployment is a concern for the Australian economy, and if so, which sectors of the economy appear to be most at risk. Results indicate that the Mining sector seems likely to be the first affected with the Manufacturing, Agriculture, Trade and Accommodation sectors least affected.

Mr. Jim McFarlane is a PhD Candidate at the UNE Business School of the University of New England in Armidale. He has over 25 years of experience of working in Hospitality, Agriculture, Construction and Trade-related industries, and has spent considerable time in many third world countries. His research interests are primarily in the area of agricultural and regional economics, including the application of economic principles and models to measure economic structural change; impact assessment; the effects from technological change, marketing programs, and government policies; production economics; value chain analysis; and wine economics. His PhD is on the economic impacts of the wine industry in the Central West region of NSW.

Supervisors:

Dr Stuart Mounter

Dr Boyd Blackwell

Professor Abbas Valadkhani