A SHORT OVERVIEW OF THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

Technological change is one of the most important forces shaping modern society. Which perspectives can help us understand technological change, es-pecially from a political economy lens? The first part of this article provides a basic overview of debates that shaped this scientific field, starting with nine-teenth century British political economy. Liberal political economists as well as their critics of the time both saw the machinery question as a paramount challenge to British society, especially with regard to the problem of tech-nological unemployment. The second part of the article turns to neoclassical economics and the conceptual tools that it uses to understand technology. Cri-tiques of the neoclassical approach are also included, of which Schumpeter's critique is the most important. The third part of the article turns to the contem-porary literature on "skill-biased technological change" which rewards those that have the skills that complement digital technology and punishes those that do not.