Há dias li no WSJ este longo artigo, "Rich Countries Are Becoming Addicted to Cheap Labor".
Entretanto, ontem li "The Cheap Labor Addiction?". Interessante, quer o texto do artigo, quer a troca de comentários. Julgo que se trata do tema que tenho abordado aqui no blogue acerca dos "Flying Geese" e também do tema desta semana sobre o papel dos empresários e da produtividade do país.
Por exemplo, acerca deste trecho no jornal:
"In Canada, economists say the government has cast aside a carefully managed immigration system that gave priority to highly skilled workers, and ramped up significantly the intake of foreign students and other low-skilled temporary workers. By flooding the market with cheap labor, Ottawa may be propping up uncompetitive businesses and ultimately damaging productivity (1), according to a December report co-written by former Canadian central-bank governor David Dodge."
Leio:
"Notice the strange use of the word "uncompetitive." If those businesses are able to do well and maybe even thrive, how are they uncompetitive? (2) In fact, they are quite competitive.
And how would hiring more workers reduce productivity? (3) Are the employers stupid? Do they want to pay people who not only don't produce but also reduce production?
Of course not. It's clear what Dodge means. He means that hiring low-skilled workers could easily reduce average productivity.
Indeed, the very next paragraph of the news story makes my point:
Economic output per capita is lower than it was in 2018 following years of record immigration (4), notes Mikal Skuterud, an economist at Waterloo University in Ontario. Canada has been bringing in so many low-skilled workers that it lowers the country's productivity overall (5), he says.
Skuterud is pointing to average productivity even though he blows it at the end by equating that to the "country's productivity overall.""
(1) e (2) - Já abordamos este tema aqui, misturar e fundir produtividade e competitividade dá asneira. Daí esta imagem que uso há anos:
- Por que se pedem paletes de mão de obra estrangeira barata?
- A concorrência "desigual" ou A evolução da produtividade (parte VII)
(3) - Produtividade de empresas versus produtividade agregada de um país. Recordo Salário mínimo, produtividade, motivação/malandragem e desemprego (parte II)
(4) e (5) - Recordo Falta a parte dolorosa da transição
Podem querer o que quiserem, mas a opção que tomarem tem custos.
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