SAM25 Shaping the Future of Work: Technology, Skills, and Power

• Topics

  The modern labor market is undergoing a rapid transformation with far-reaching implications for workers, firms, leaders, and societies.  This transformation is primarily driven by shifts in the supply and demand for specific skills, rapidly evolving technological adoption, shifts in the employer-employee power dynamics, and increasing global immigration flows. In particular:

  Technology

  • Automation and AI Impact: Automation and AI are reshaping industries, displacing certain jobs and creating demand for new ones.
  • Remote Work Trends: The rise of remote work has introduced new ways of working, offering increased flexibility but also altering expectations around work-life balance.

  Skills

  • Evolving Skill Requirements: There is a growing demand for digital, technical, and soft skills, requiring workers to continuously adapt and reskill.
  • Shift in Job Roles: As industries evolve, traditional work roles are diminishing and new roles are emerging.

  Power

  • Corporate Influence: Large corporations have gained significant product and labor market power, changing the dynamics of price-setting on the product market and wage-setting on the labor market.
  • Decline of Worker Power: Worker power and union membership has declined, reducing collective bargaining power and transferring power from the worker to the firm.

  Immigration

  • Global Immigration: Immigration continues to influence labor markets by providing a flexible workforce, especially in industries like agriculture, construction, and healthcare. However, it can also lead to political and economic debates over job competition and wages.
  • Increased worker mobility: Remote work, increased worker mobility, and rapid technological innovation allows companies to hire talent from anywhere, increasing competition and providing opportunities for diverse workforces, but also posing challenges to key societal goals such as social equality.   

  These elements interact to shape tomorrow's labor market. By examining these key drivers, the course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how these forces shape the employment landscape, influence career opportunities, and affect the balance between efficiency and equity in the modern labor market.

• Learning outcome

  The course offers insights to the key drivers behind the ongoing transformation of the modern labor market, focusing on skills, technology, power, and immigration. It examines how these changes impact individuals, firms, leaders, and societies. By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  Knowledge:

  • Explain core aspects of the modern labor market.
  • Understand key drivers of the ongoing labor market transformation.
  • Analyze the effects of these changes on workers, firms, and societies.

  Skills:

  • Use economic tools to address large societal issues.
  • Evaluate various economic policies for efficiency, equity, and sustainability.

  General Competence:

  • Communicate economic analysis and policy assessments clearly, both in writing and orally.

• Teaching

  The course is structured into four blocks revolving around the main themes of the course: skills, technology, market power, and immigration. 

  Each block will encompass 2 lectures by Professor Willen and Professor Løken, a guest lecture by an invited expert, and a case week in which students are presented with a scenario that they have to work through in groups. 

  During the semester, each group will have to provide a short presentation of their findings from one of the cases. This presentation is mandatory for being allowed to take the exam. 

  At the start of the last class of the course, the students will be given a short multiple choice exam intended to help them prepare for the final exam. This is not mandatory. 

  Class attendance is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. Lectures will not be recorded and there is no digital teaching option. 

• Recommended prerequisites

  This is an economics course with strong focus on preparing students for the demands of tomorrow's labor market and the implications this have for individuals, businesses, leaders, and society. As such, the course will draw from core concepts and fundamental tools of economics. However, these concepts and tools will be carefully explained in the course, and there is no course or knowledge prerequisite for taking the course. 

• Required prerequisites

  None. 

• Compulsory Activity

  One short group presentation based on one of the case weeks (see teaching plan for additional information). 

• Assessment

  3 hours individual digital school exam. The exam will be made up of multiple choice questions (50 percent) and short answer questions (50 percent). The exam must be written in Norwegian or English.

• Grading Scale

  A-F

• Computer tools

  N/A

• Literature

  The course will draw from a rich literature of popular science articles, newspaper articles, and academic journal articles. These will be provided at the start of the course. 

  There is no mandatory textbook for the course. However, for interested students, and for students who would like to dive deeper into certain topics, textbook recommendations will be made.  

• Permitted Support Material

  One bilingual dictionary (Category I) 

  All in accordance with Supplementary provisions to the Regulations for Full-time Study Programmes at the Norwegian School of Economics Ch.4 Permitted support material https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/regulations/https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/regulations/ and https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/examination-support-materials/https://www.nhh.no/en/for-students/examinations/examination-support-materials/