Covid-19 and the Future of Work

My guest is Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor of Economics at MIT and the author (with James Robinson) of Why Nations Fail: Origins of Power, Poverty, and Prosperity and The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty. We discuss the impact of the pandemic on the welfare, power, and status of workers. In what ways is the pandemic accelerating trends toward greater automation and digitization in the economy, widening economic inequality and the increasing the capital share of the fruits of production? How does government policy actually encourage the adoption of labor-replacing technology? Why might institutional reforms be necessary to encourage worker-friendly innovation and create a free and inclusive post-pandemic economy?