Technological unemployment as frictional unemployment: From Luddite to routine-biased technological change

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present some scenarios about a possible future evolution of the labour market in the knowledge economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The author used the literature to describe the historical evolution of the technology unemployment.

Findings

Digital technology does not directly generate unemployment, as the balance between jobs destroyed and created has historically always been positive. Indeed, technological unemployment in such a context can manifest itself in the form of frictional unemployment.

Originality/value

The study enriches the literature on the relationship between digital technologies and unemployment rate.

Citation

Fiorelli, F. (2018), "Technological unemployment as frictional unemployment: From Luddite to routine-biased technological change", Kybernetes, Vol. 47 No. 2, pp. 333-342. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-03-2017-0089