New technologies and new ways of working are transforming the nature of work and—over time—reshaping the Australian and global economies. While the pace and magnitude of change varies significantly from industry to industry (and often from player to player in those industries), in each sector we looked at in this report, we saw fundamental changes...

Do industries shed jobs when they adopt new labor-saving technologies? Sometimes productivity-enhancing technology increases industry employment instead. In manufacturing, jobs grew along with productivity for a century or more; only later did productivity gains bring declining employment. What changed? Markets became saturated. While the literature on structural change provides reasons for the decline in the...

Technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution are blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres of global production systems. The current pace of technological development is exerting profound changes on the way people live and work. It is impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, perhaps none more so than production, including how, what...

A new technological epoch is underway – the so-called Machine Age – reflecting advances in artificial intelligence, digitalisation and Big Data. Some commentators have claimed that this epoch is different from previous ones in that it will produce large-scale technological unemployment, while others argue the contrary. Only time will judge who is right on this...

This white paper is the outcome of an international dialogue series, organised by the World Economic Forum. It is intended to be a resource for governments, business and other stakeholders interested in strengthening the enabling environment for human capital formation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.