olli rehn : technological upheaval and labour markets opening remarks by mr olli rehn, governor of the bank of finland, at the bank of finland seminar on “ technological upheaval and labour markets ”, helsinki, 2 september 2019. * * * ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to welcome all of you to this seminar at the bank of finland. today we are addressing a very timely subject : technological upheaval and the labour markets. let me point out that this seminar has two parallel origins : popular demand and substantive importance. by popular demand i am referring to our seminar last december with trade unions and employers ’ associations, when these issues were raised in many interventions, calling for further research and dialogue on them – rightly so. so we are now responding to this welljustified popular demand. by substantive importance i am referring to the fact that these issues are indeed at the heart of the ongoing transformation of work and the labor markets. they have a profound impact on the everyday lives of our citizens – thus, what could more important than studying them? against this backdrop, let me outline a few questions i hope and trust that this seminar will be analyzing and even providing some answers. first of all, in recent years it seems that technological change has shifted gears. many of our daily activities have moved online, we are talking about the platform economy, while artificial intelligence and robotics seem to be on the minds and agendas of companies and policymakers. digitalization and automation have been around for decades, and there have been many waves of technological change that have caused disruptions in various industries and professions. nevertheless, it seems that there are some important differences between what has happened in the past and what is happening today. most importantly, it would appear that information technology is having a more widespread effect across all sectors of the economy. also, the ongoing process of digitalization may be affecting a larger share of jobs than the general purpose technologies of the past. this has also raised ‘ automation anxiety ’, with predictions that machines will displace jobs and cause mass unemployment. however, there is a long history of such predictions. let me give you a few examples. already 25 years ago, in 1995, american economic and social theorist jeremy rifkin warned “ now for the first time, human labor is being systematically eliminated from the production process. intelligent machines are replacing human beings in countless tasks, forcing millions of blue and white collar workers into unemployment, or worse still,

for all. so that ’ s our agenda today. i look very much forward to listening to the presentations and your views about technological upheaval and its impact on the working life and labour markets this afternoon. with these words, welcome to all of you to this seminar! ladies and gentlemen, let me now introduce to you our first key - note speaker, professor laura tyson. laura is an influential and well - known scholar of economics and public policy, specializing on trade and competitiveness. today, laura tyson is the faculty director of the berkeley haas institute for business and social impact, which she launched in 2013. in addition, she has also served as dean of london business school from 2002 until 2006. as many of you certainly well remember, she has also served as a presidential adviser. she served as chair of president clinton ’ s council of economic advisers from 1993 to 1995, and as director of the white house national economic council from 1995 to 1996. laura is the author of numerous publications on competitiveness, industrial policy, international trade, and sustainable business practices. she is also regular contributor to project syndicate, and is a frequent media commentator, for instance, on issues of u. s. and global trade and economics, competition, and women ’ s economic empowerment. much of prof. tyson ’ s recent research focuses on the effects of automation on the future of work. i ’ m sure we are going to hear more of her thoughts on those issues today. without further ado, prof. tyson, dear laura, the floor is yours, please. 1 jeremy rifkin ( 1996 ) : the end of work : decline of the global labor force and the dawn of the post - market era. warner books. 2 james bessen ( 2015 ) : learning by doing, the real connection between innovation, wages and wealth. yale university press. 3 e. g. lawrence f. katz & david autor ( 1999 ) changes in the wage structure and earnings inequality, handbook of labor economics, in : o. ashenfelter & d. card ( ed. ), handbook of labor economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, 1463 – 1555 elsevier., daron acemoglu & david autor ( 2011 ) : skills, tasks and technologies : implications for employment and earnings, handbook of labor economics, elsevier. 4 maarten goos & alan manning, 2007. “ lousy and lovely jobs : the rising polarization of work