Citation

Hecht J. Camb. J. Econ. 2001; 25(4): 517-537.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Cambridge Political Economy Society, Publisher Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/cje/25.4.517

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The post‐war American insurance industry has undergone a profound change in the structure of demand for labour owing to massive mechanisation in the form of both automation and computerisation. This paper finds that the classical dynamic of labour‐displacing technological change--as identified by Smith, Ricardo, Babbage, Marx, as well as Keynes and Schumpeter--has been a persistent feature of this sector. Moreover, while the loci of mechanisation initially focused on clerical employment, the drive for further cost reductions in labour‐intensive professional activities including accounting, actuarial, insurance agents and underwriting have now become the focus of further mechanisation.