Economy & Work (New)

Sociology
Sixteenth Edition
Chapter 16
The Economy and Work
Copyright © 2017, 2014, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Learning Objectives
16.1 Summarize historical changes to the economy.
16.2 Assess the operation of capitalist and socialist
economies.
16.3 Analyze patterns of employment and unemployment in
the United States.
16.4 Discuss the importance of corporations to the U.S.
economy.
The Power of Society (1 of 2)
• Will the jobs you take
throughout your life
reflect choices you
make based on your
personal abilities and
interests?
The Economy: What Is…?
• Economy
– Social institution that organizes a society’s production,
distribution, and consumption of goods and services
What Are Goods & Services?
• Goods
– Commodities ranging from necessities to luxury items
• Services
– Activities that benefit others
Historical Overview
• Overview
– The economy operates in a predictable manner.
– Goods and services ensure survival, make life easier,
and contribute to social identity.
– Economies of modern high-income nations are the
result of centuries of social change.
Agricultural Revolution
• The earliest societies
– Hunters and gatherers with no distinct economy.
• 5000 years ago the economy started transforming itself
into a more distinct social institution
• New agricultural economy was fifty times more productive
than hunting and gathering
– Agricultural technology
– Job specialization
– Permanent settlements
– Trade
Industrial Revolution
• Industrialization created economic change in five ways.
– New sources of energies (Replacing Human Power with Machines)
– Centralization of work in factories
– Manufacturing and mass production (Finished Goods
Manufacturing)
– Specialization (Replacing end to end approach to dedicated)
– Wage labor
Information Revolution and Postindustrial
Society
• Postindustrial economy (1950s)
– Productive system of service work and high
technology
• Information revolution altered fundamental character of
work in three ways
– From tangible products to intangible ideas
– From mechanical skills to literacy skills (Techno Based)
– From factories to almost anywhere (eg: Work from Home)
Sectors of the Economy
• Primary sector
– Generates raw materials from environment
• Secondary sector
– Transforms raw materials into manufactured goods
• Tertiary sector
– Generates services rather than goods
The Size of Economic Sectors, Income
Level of Country
• As countries become
richer, the primary sector
becomes a smaller part of
the economy and the
tertiary or service sector
becomes larger.
• Agriculture Sector in Pakistan
contributes: 24% in NGDP
• Industrial Sector in Pakistan
• Services Sector in Pakistan
Global Map 16-1 Agricultural Employment
in Global Perspective
Global Map 16-2 Service-Sector
Employment in Global Perspective
Types of Economies
(Capitalism) laissez-faire economy
• Capitalism is an economic system in which natural resources and the
means of producing goods and services are privately owned. An
ideal capitalist economy has three distinctive features
– Private ownership of property
– Pursuit of personal profit
– Competition and consumer choice
– Capitalism still thrives in Hong Kong (above), evident in streets

choked with advertising and shoppers.
Socialism
• “Justice” in a socialist context is
meeting everyone's needs in
roughly equal manner.
• Features
– Collective ownership of
property
– Pursuit of collective goals
– Government control of the
economy
• Socialism is more the rule in
China's capital, Beijing (above), a
city dominated by government
buildings rather than a downtown
business district.
Capitalism and Socialism
• Directly comparing the
economic performance of
capitalism socialism is
difficult because nations
differ in many ways.
• But a satellite image of
socialist North Korea and
capitalist dramatically
different electrical output
of the two nations, one
indication of economic
activity.
Socialism and Communism: What Is…?
• Socialism
– Economic system in which natural resources and
means of producing goods and services are
collectively owned
• Communism
– Hypothetical economic and political system; all
members of a society are socially equal
Alternative Systems: What Is…?
• Welfare capitalism
– Economic and political system that combines market-
based economy and social welfare programs
• State capitalism
– Economic and political system in which companies
are privately owned but cooperate closely with
government
Which Economic System is
Followed in Pakistan?
Pakistan has a mixed economic
system with a combination of
free-market activity and
government intervention.
Distribution of employment by economic
sector from 2009 to 2019 (Pakistan)
The Changing Pattern of Work in the
United States, 1900-2011
• Compared to a century
ago, when the economy
involved a larger share of
factory and farm work,
making a living in the
United States now
involves mostly white-
collar service jobs.
Source: Estimates based
on U.S. Department of
Labor (2012).
Professions: What Is…?
• Profession
– Prestigious white-collar occupation that requires
extensive formal education
Self-Employment, Unemployment, and
Underemployment (1 of 3)
• Self-employment
– Earning a living without being on the payroll of a large
organization
• Unemployment
– Jobs disappear as occupations become obsolete,
businesses change operational plans, and companies
downsize or close
• Although college graduates
have a low risk of
unemployment, race is
related to unemployment for
all categories of people.
Source: U.S. Department of
Labor (2013)
• Underemployment
– Lower salaries, fewer benefits, and reduced/no
pensions
– Many workers agree to cuts in pay and/or benefits
The “Jobless Recovery”
• Slower recovery in jobs
– Computer technology
– Increased workload for existing workers
– More temporary workers
– More jobs abroad
Race and Gender in the Workplace
• Do these matter?
– In the past, white men have been the mainstay of the
US labor force
– In the future, more workers will be women and
minorities
– Development of programs/policies to meet needs of
socially diverse workforce needed
New Information Technology and Work
• AA M O I
– Computers are de-skilling labor.
– Computers are making work more abstract.
– Computers limit workplace interaction.
– Computers increase employers’ control of workers.
– Computers allow companies to relocate work.
Corporations: Are They Competitive?
• Corporations
– Few large corporations dominate economy.
– Economic concentration has created the
conglomerate.
– Federal law forbids monopoly, but allows oligopoly.
Corporations and Global Economy
• In the world
– Corporations account for most of the world’s
economic output.
– Biggest corporations are based in the U.S., Japan,
and Western Europe, but their marketplace is the
entire world.
– Low-income countries contain most of world’s
population, natural resources, and cheap labor.
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Sociology

– Private ownership of property

– Pursuit of personal profit

– Competition and consumer choice

– Capitalism still thrives in Hong Kong (above), evident in streets

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Economy &amp; Work (New)

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Sociology

– Private ownership of property

– Pursuit of personal profit

– Competition and consumer choice

– Capitalism still thrives in Hong Kong (above), evident in streets

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Economy & Work (New)

Economy & Work (New)