1. Definition of work -why is it an important issue for political economy? 2. How has work changed over the past? In terms of both quantity (changes in manufacturing / services, feminisation of the workforce, automation etc) and quality of work (core/periphery workforce, changes in workforce management, Fordism / Post-Fordism etc). Consider the four industrial revolutions and the impact of technological change on the way we work) – work satisfaction, pay, reproductive work and unpaid) 3. How do we think work is changing now and how do we think work will change in the future? (social economy, co-operatives, informal `cash in hand` work, gig economy, green jobs, AI). Are their benefits and disbenefits in these new work forms? 4. What can different schools of political economy (Smith, Marx, Marshall, Veblen and Keynes) tell us about work and future of work? See the Assessment 2 Guidance on the mylearning page for clues. You should make sure you read and use the chapter by Pietrykowski on the future of work that I sent you recently, along with Warde on Fordism and Post Fordism. The link at the bottom of this quickmail is to a chapter about the co-operative economy in Mondragon in the Basque region. Can this type of initiative be a way forward to ensure work and welfare? Here is a link to an article about the impact of AI now and in the future. Semuels, A (2020) “Millions of Americans Have Lost Jobs in the Pandemic—And Robots and AI Are Replacing Them Faster Than Ever” Time Magazine 6th August 2020 https://time.com/5876604/machines-jobs-coronavirus/ I hope this advice is useful to you. Best wishes
