Rethinking Public Policy in the Digital Era Sunil Johal - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Rethinking Public Policy in the Digital Era Sunil Johal - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Rethinking Public Policy in the Digital Era Sunil Johal @johalsunil CESBA December 1, 2017 Agenda Key Trends Public Policy Implications Government Service Delivery & Employment Implications Questions &

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Sunil Johal @johalsunil

CESBA – December 1, 2017

Rethinking Public Policy in the Digital Era

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 Key Trends  Public Policy Implications  Government Service Delivery & Employment Implications  Questions & Discussion

Agenda

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Key Trends

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Policies and programs that are integral to the well- being of Canadians remain intimately tied to conventional ideas of employment, despite a new economy that demands new approaches.

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Longer-term trends

  • Unequal prosperity
  • Rise of precarious work
  • Declining unionization
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Unequal Prosperity

Income inequality continues to grow by all measures Canada’s top 1% of earners accounted for 37% of the country’s

  • verall income growth between 1981

and 2010

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Unequal Prosperity

The “Great Decoupling” implies that while the economy continues to grow, wages have remained mostly stagnant for almost 30 years

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Unequal Prosperity

In Canada, the wage share of GDP fell by 7.5% between 1981 and 2015

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Unequal Prosperity

Over the same time period, corporate profits after taxes as a share of GDP increased by 77%

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Rise of precarious work

The standard employment relationship - characterized by full- time hours, permanency and benefits - is becoming increasingly rare

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Rise of precarious work

Non-standard jobs tend to be lower wage, and significantly less likely to be tied to various employer benefits

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Declining unionization

  • Unions have historically played important role in establishing

decent wages, reasonable workday length and safe workplaces

  • The rate of unionization has fallen from 37.6% in 1981 to

28.8% in 2014

  • As the relationship between employer and employee

changes, expectations of each becomes less clear

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Emerging Issues

  • Unique nature of the digital economy
  • Automation of industry
  • Living in an on-demand society
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Understanding the new economy: Emerging Issues

  • Unique nature of the digital economy
  • Increasingly firms are characterized by powerful

network effects, low barriers to entry and fewer full- time employees

  • Living in an on-demand society
  • New business models often blur boundaries of who

is considered an employee (e.g. increase use of independent contractor classification)

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  • Automation of industry
  • Advancements in automation and AI are now

replacing human muscle power as well brain power

  • Deconstructing a job and outsourcing constituent

tasks can be understood as part of progression towards automation

Understanding the new economy: Emerging Issues

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Automation of industry

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Automation of industry

Many studies have attempted to estimate the size of job loss due to automation across various jurisdictions, using different methodologies

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Deconstructing a job and outsourcing its constituent tasks can be understood as part of a progression towards automation in which jobs become less stable and less well-paid

Automation of industry

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Living in an on-demand society

New and emerging digital platforms easily connect those looking for short-term work, many of which use alternative worker classifications such as “independent contractor”

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What’s the impact?

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  • Increased uncertainty
  • Pace of change
  • Constant disruption and volatility
  • Significant pressure on existing regulatory/social

and economic frameworks

  • Increased need for quick, coordinated and

international responses

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Public Policy Implications

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Six key policy areas will face pressures to modernize

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How is our social architecture holding up?

  • 39% of unemployed Canadians currently receive

regular EI benefits, compared to 82% in 1978

  • 48% of working-aged Canadians have not started
  • r are currently not saving for their retirement
  • Over 80% of precarious workers in Ontario do not

receive benefits such as vision, dental, drug, life insurance

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  • Only enough centre-based spaces to care for

22.5% of children under 5 years old

  • Stagnant incomes at bottom of the income

distribution scale have been outpaced by private market rental prices

  • A growing number of Canadians may not be

entitled to various employment standards protections

How is our social architecture holding up?

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Targeted programs & policy adjustments

  • Clarify worker classification and possible additional

protections for gig workers

  • Enforcement and public awareness of employment

standard requirements

  • Re-examine public sector collective agreements and
  • pportunities to ensure robust, fair labour practices
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Transformational changes

  • Danish “flexicurity” model
  • Portable benefits
  • Work-sharing schemes (e.g. Germany’s Kurzarbeit)
  • Guaranteed annual income
  • National skills strategy
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Stay Connected

@johalsunil sunil@mowatcentre.ca

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