Equation 5 · Part 7 · What the Machine Breakers Actually Wanted
Symbol s
What this part means
the value-added share of task x.
Its job in the formula
s is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.
Full expression→Symbol s→Article meaning
Where the article explains it
where tasks are indexed by x , s(x) is the value-added share of task x , I is the automation frontier below which capital performs the task, N is the upper edge of the task space where new tasks appear, and scales the induced demand from higher output.
The passage around this formula
Written schematically, the change in labour demand decomposes as . where tasks are indexed by x , s(x) is the value-added share of task x , I is the automation frontier below which capital performs the task, N is the upper edge of the task space where new tasks appear, and scales the induced demand from higher output. The expression is illustrative of the structure rather than a reproduction of any published estimating equation; the substantive claim it encodes is that the sign of L is not determined by the size of I alone.
Learn the underlying idea
A function assigns an output to each allowed input. The expression f(x) means “apply f to x”.
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Sources cited in the article section
- [10] Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor ↗
- [11] The Race between Man and Machine: Implications of Technology for Growth, Factor Shares, and Employment ↗
- [12] Tasks, Automation, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality ↗
- [19] New Frontiers: The Origins and Content of New Work, 1940-2018 ↗
These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.