15. The Problem of Employment and Growth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Having been the products of arising needs, industrial revolutions led to many innovations in economic and social life during their respective periods. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has started the digital age we are in, thanks to the development of the Internet of Things, the Internet of Services, Cyber-Physical Systems, Robots, Big Data, and Cloud Computing Systems. The technological development of automation and information systems in production paves the way for certain changes in macro dimensions such as economic growth and employment. Digital advances in the Logistics sector, which cannot be considered independent from production, on the one hand provided increased productivity in the sector, yet, on the other hand, gave a rise to an unemployment problem for the labor sector. The unfavorable landscape that the Fourth Industrial Revolution initially created regarding employment can be overcome by lifelong learning, higher education, and the supply of a qualified and competent workforce. First of all, it has been the humancapital itself that triggered technological developments. In the present study, the first three industrial revolutions are briefly discussed in terms of their economic effects and the Fourth Industrial Revolution is examined theoretically. The effects of digitalization on economic growth and employment, and especially the changes induced thereby in the logistics industry are mentioned. The fact that technological developments are inversely associated with employment at the beginning, is examined as a disadvantage along with the many facilities it introduces.