Here is the forum where you should post your “Stagnation Post”. This post is worth 50 points or 10% of your grade.  Your “Structural Stagnation Dilemma” post should be submitted by Sunday, November 23 and is worth up to 50 points.

Your post should contain at least four well-formed paragraphs.  The minimum recommended length for your assessment should be about 500 words.

For your “Structural Stagnation Dilemma” post you are asked to critically evaluate the debate over “structural stagnation”, technological change, and globalization as outlined in Chapter 11 and other chapters of your text.   In addition to the material in Chapter 11 please look over Appendix A of Chapter 11: “Creating a Targeted Safety Net to Help the Least Well Off.”  It is also recommended that you read the material in Chapter 17 on “Jobs and Unemployment” especially pages 370-381 starting with the section: “Is Unemployment Structural or Cyclical?”  There are additional resources on the topic of Structural and Secular Stagnation under the Macro Web links tab on Blackboard.

As background for your post watch the TED talks by Robert Gordon:http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_gordon_the_death_of_innovation_the_end_of_growth.html

 And Eric Brynjolfsson:http://www.ted.com/talks/erik_brynjolfsson_the_key_to_growth_race_em_with_em_the_machines.html

and their TED debate: http://blog.ted.com/2013/04/23/the-future-of-work-and-innovation-robert-gordon-and-erik-brynjolfsson-debate-at-ted2013/

I would also like you to view the World Economic Forum Debate” “Rethinking Technology and Employment” especially the comments by Erik Brynjolfsson and Lawrence H. Summers for further insights regarding technological innovation and jobless growth.  The URL for the debate is:

http://www.weforum.org/sessions/summary/forum-debate-rethinking-technology-and-employment

After watching the TED talks and the debates you are ready to write your post:

-Briefly explain the difference between “structural stagnation” and “secular stagnation.”  What are the root causes of “stagnation” in both hypotheses?

-Referring to the Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand model (AS/AD) and the material in Chapter 11 what challenges does the “dilemma” pose for both employment and macro policy?

-How does technological change potentially impact economic growth and employment?

-Globalization has pulled hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in China and India.  How should that gain be weighed against the structural changes that globalization requires in the United States?

-Should there be a safety net for those most hurt by globalization and technological change? What kind of safety net? Who should pay for it? Explain