Embedded Files
Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior knowledge and learning objectives
Helpful prior learning:
Section 1.1.1 The economy and you, which explains what an economy is and how it is relevant to students’ lives
Section 1.1.2 The embedded economy, which explains the relationship between the economy and society and Earth’s systems
Section 5.1.1 The state as a system, which defines the state, its parts and their relationships, and some ways to classify states
Section 5.1.3 State functions, which explains the various roles of the state in providing goods and services, protecting the population, and stabilising and guiding change
Section S.1 What are systems?, which explains what a system is, the importance of systems boundaries, the difference between open and closed systems and the importance of systems thinking
Section S.2 Systems thinking patterns, which outlines the core components of systems thinking: distinctions (thing/other), systems (part/whole), relationships (action/reaction), and perspectives (point/view)
Section S.3 Systems diagrams and models, which explains the systems thinking in some familiar information tools as well as the symbols used to represent parts/wholes, relationships and perspectives.
Section S.5 Causal loops, feedback and tipping points, which explains the feedback loops that can stabilise or destabilise systems.
Section S.8 Leverage points, which describes various leverage points for systems change
Section S.9 System traps, which explains how system structures, like reinforcing feedback, too weak or late balancing feedback, and/or pursuing flawed goals, can create persistent problems.
Learning objectives:
explain how wage labour became so dominant in market economies
explain how unemployment is calculated
discuss why different types of work are valued differently in our current economies
explain how the state can support regenerative work
In 2023, the International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that one in five young people worldwide were not in school, working, or in training (Figure 1). That’s about 290 million teenagers and young adults. In some regions, the numbers are even higher.
Why are so many young people struggling to find jobs or education? What kinds of work are available? And what should work be for?
Figure 1. Share of youth aged 15-24 not in employment, education or training (NEET).
(Credit: ILO)
How did wage labour become the main way to meet our needs?
How did wage labour become the main way to meet our needs?
For most of human history, people didn’t earn money in exchange for work. Communities met their own needs by farming, hunting, caring for each other, and sharing what they had. Work was part of life, but it wasn’t usually paid.
This changed during the rise of industrial capitalism, from the 1700s onwards. In many places, shared land was enclosed and turned into private property (Figure 2). People who had relied on forests, rivers, or fields had to leave the countryside and move to cities. There, they needed to earn money to buy food, housing, and other necessities. Over time, wage labour, working for money, became the main way to survive.
Figure 2. When shared land is enclosed, or turned into private property by the state, people lose their ability to meet their needs, and have no choice but to sell their labour.
(Credit: Polyp, used with permission)
Wage labour as a system trap
Wage labour as a system trap
Today, wage labour often traps both workers and businesses. People need jobs to earn wages, and businesses need those wages to be spent on their products to stay open. So, the system depends on constant work, production, and consumption.
This loop can cause harm. To stay profitable, businesses may cut wages, replace workers with machines, or ignore environmental damage. Workers may have little time for unpaid care, rest, or community life. This weakens the social and ecological systems that support life. As people stop growing food or caring for others themselves, they rely more on purchasing goods and services from businesses in markets. But this increases their need for wages, trapping them in the same cycle (Figure 3).
The precariat
The precariat
This system has created a growing group of insecure workers called the precariat. These people don’t have stable jobs. Many are gig workers, like delivery drivers or online freelancers. Others have short-term or part-time work without paid holidays, sick leave, or pensions.
Living in constant insecurity can make it difficult to plan ahead, support a family, or take part in community life. It also gives employers more power, since workers are more likely to accept poor conditions if they fear losing even a small source of income. The precariat is a sign that the wage labour system is no longer working well for millions of people and that new forms of support and solidarity are urgently needed.
Figure 3. Many people are trapped in a wage-labour system that prevents them from doing things that improve their own and others wellbeing.
(Credit: Beyond the Roadmap)
Figure 4. Many delivery workers have inconsistent and insecure work, are part of the precariat.
(Credit: 李昂軒, Pexels license)
How do states measure unemployment?
How do states measure unemployment?
States often measure economic success using the unemployment rate. This shows the percentage of the labour force that wants a job but can’t find one. States often aim to reduce unemployment because high rates can lead to poverty, unrest, or loss of trust. To be counted as part of the labour force, a person must be available for work and actively looking (Figure 5).
Calculating the unemployment rate:
(Number of unemployed people / labour force) x 100
Sample data from May 2017 in the United States:
Employed: 163,307,000
Unemployed: 7,052,000
Labour force = Employed + unemployed
(7,052,000/170,359,000) x 100 = 4.1%
People not actively seeking work, such as full-time students, unpaid caregivers, or those who have given up, called discouraged workers, aren’t counted in the labour force and are not part of the unemployment rate. Some workers may be underemployed, working fewer hours than they want or in jobs that don’t match their skills. They are also not counted as unemployed. So the unemployment rate doesn’t give us the full picture of the employment situation in a region or a country.
Figure 5. Some common employment distinctions and their relationships to the whole working age population (excluding the young and elderly)
Why might people not have paid work?
Why might people not have paid work?
There are many reasons why someone may not be in paid employment. Some reasons are economic, others social or personal. They include:
lack of job opportunities, especially during recessions when the economy shrinks
mismatch between people’s skills and available jobs
time needed to search for work after moving or finishing school
caregiving responsibilities for children or older family members
illness or disability
discouragement from repeated rejection or discrimination
lack of access to transport, internet, or local job markets.
doing unpaid work like subsistence farming, mutual aid, or creative work.
Regenerative economics reminds us that unpaid work also matters. How we define and measure employment shows what we value as a society.
What kind of work should we value most and what do young people need?
What kind of work should we value most and what do young people need?
Not all jobs are good for people or the planet. Some meet real needs, like growing food, caring for others, or restoring nature. Other jobs may cause harm by producing polluting goods, encouraging waste, or doing tasks that feel pointless.
Anthropologist David Graeber argued that some jobs exist mainly to serve bureaucracy or power, not to meet real needs. People in these roles may feel their work lacks purpose, not because they are lazy, but because the system rewards profit over meaning.
Young people today face new challenges. Climate change, automation, and global instability make it harder to find stable jobs. But these same problems also offer a chance to rethink work.
A regenerative economy values jobs that support life: green and caring work, education, public services, local food systems, and community-led businesses. Many young people are already creating this kind of work, through cooperatives, social enterprises, or mutual aid.
Figure 6. How many people feel that their work serves a real need or purpose?
(Credit: Ron Lach, Pexels license)
What do wages tell us about how work is valued?
What do wages tell us about how work is valued?
Most people need wages to meet basic needs. But not all wages are fair or enough to live on.
A minimum wage is the lowest amount an employer can legally pay. A living wage is what someone actually needs to afford food, housing, transport, and a decent life. In many places, the minimum wage is not enough to meet human needs.
Wages depend on more than how hard someone works or how important their job is. Other factors include:
power: Employers have more power when jobs are scarce. Workers gain power by organising in unions or cooperatives.
skills: Special training or rare skills may lead to higher pay.
law: Governments set rules on wages, safety, and working hours.
profit: A rich company can often pay more than a small one.
social value vs market value: Some essential jobs—like teaching, nursing, or care work—pay little because they don’t make large profits, and workers may lack bargaining power (Section 1.3.7 and Section 1.4.4).
At the same time, many high-paid jobs are in industries like finance, fossil fuels, and tech. These industries make big profits by controlling resources, data, or people’s time and attention. This shows a deep imbalance: work that supports life is often paid the least.
Figure 7. People in high level positions in extractive industries like finance tend to have high salaries.
(Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko, Pexels license)
How can the state support more regenerative work?
How can the state support more regenerative work?
In today’s world, most people must earn money to survive. But the state can help shift the system to support fair, meaningful, and sustainable work.
Public job guarantees and investment in green and care work
Public job guarantees and investment in green and care work
Some governments offer public jobs to anyone who wants to work. These roles can focus on social and ecological repair, such as:
caring for children, the elderly, or people with disabilities.
planting trees or restoring ecosystems.
supporting local farms or food systems.
repairing and renovating homes or public buildings.
strengthening culture, arts, or education.
India’s MGNREGA programme offers paid work to rural households for up to 100 days a year. In Marienthal, Austria, unemployed people are guaranteed jobs focused on local renewal.
Supporting cooperatives and social enterprises
Supporting cooperatives and social enterprises
The state can make it easier for people to create their own work through cooperatives and social enterprises. These workplaces are often owned and managed by the workers, and they focus on meeting community needs, not just profit. States can help by:
offering start-up money and legal support;
providing training in democratic decision-making;
supporting cooperatives and social enterprises with laws that make it easier to set up and run them.
Figure 9. Cocoa farmers in cooperatives can work together to support one another, sharing knowledge and leveraging greater power over the price of their cocoa.
(Credit: ICCFO, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Reducing working hours and sharing work
Reducing working hours and sharing work
Working long hours can harm health and relationships. It can also increase pollution and waste. A regenerative economy values time for rest, care, and community life. States can
set shorter working hours by law;
protect incomes during shorter work weeks or economic disruptions;
Lead by example by reducing work time in the public sector;
France has a 35-hour week, and many countries are trying out four-day work weeks with good results.
Raising the minimum wage
Raising the minimum wage
For decades, many economists have argued that higher minimum wages worsen unemployment by raising costs of production so businesses hire fewer workers. Many real-world studies show that minimum wages have little impact on unemployment. But many studies show that fair wages help workers stay healthy, reduce stress, and support local economies. Raising the minimum wage to a living wage can improve lives without causing harm, especially if small businesses are supported during the change.
Supporting household care and domestic work
Supporting household care and domestic work
A lot of essential work is unpaid, especially in the home. This includes childcare, cooking, cleaning, and caring for relatives. Most of it is done by women and often not counted in the economic statistics. Section 2.4.4 has a more extensive discussion of how the state can support household care and domestic work. States can support this work by:
providing income for caregivers;
including care work in national statistics;
letting care years count toward pensions.
This helps make unpaid work more visible and valued. When care is recognised, states are more likely to support it through policy.
Figure 10. The International Labor Organization (ILO) recommends five Rs as a framework to improve care.
(Credit: ILO)
States have the power to reshape the purpose of work. Rather than focusing only on creating more jobs to drive business profits and consumption, states can support work that restores the land, strengthens relationships, and responds to the needs of people. This requires listening to communities, reducing inequality, and creating space for everyone to contribute in meaningful ways.
Activity 5.3.5
Activity 5.3.5
Concept: Systems, Regeneration
Skills: Thinking skills (transfer, critical and creative thinking)
Time: varies, depending on option
Type: Individual, pairs, or group
Option 1: Who is unemployed?
Time: 25 minutes
Individually, in pairs or a small group, review the following scenarios. Decide whether each person would be counted as unemployed according to the most common definition used by states and economists (actively looking for paid work and available to start). Then discuss:
What patterns do you notice in who is excluded from this definition?
How do these definitions influence who receives public support or attention in employment policy?
A 25-year-old university graduate applying for jobs daily.
A parent staying home full-time to care for young children.
A 19-year-old doing unpaid work on a family farm.
A 22-year-old who gave up looking for work after months of rejection.
A part-time café worker who wants full-time hours.
A recent immigrant attending language classes before job-hunting.
A person with a disability who has applied for several jobs this month.
A volunteer helping full-time in a refugee centre.
Click below to reveal answers>>
1. A 25-year-old university graduate applying for jobs daily. ✅ Yes.
This person is actively looking for work and is available to start, so they are counted as unemployed.
2. A parent staying home full-time to care for young children. ❌ No.
They are not seeking paid employment and therefore not considered unemployed, even though they are not earning wages.
3. A 19-year-old doing unpaid work on a family farm. ❌ No.
They are not counted as unemployed because they are working, even if not paid.
4. A 22-year-old who gave up looking for work after months of rejection. ❌ No.
This person is a “discouraged worker.” Because they are no longer job-hunting, they are not included in unemployment figures.
5. A part-time café worker who wants full-time hours. ❌ No.
They are counted as employed, even if they are underemployed or earning too little.
6. A recent immigrant attending language classes before job-hunting. ❌ No.
They are not yet seeking work, so they are not included in unemployment statistics.
7. A person with a disability who has applied for several jobs this month. ✅ Yes.
They are actively looking for work and available to start, so they are counted as unemployed, regardless of barriers they may face.
8. A volunteer helping full-time in a refugee centre. ❌ No.
They are not seeking paid employment, so they are not counted as unemployed, even if their work is valuable.
Option 2: An activity related to the Keynes quote about 15 hour workweek
Time: 30 minutes (more with the extension)
In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that technological progress would allow people to work just 15 hours per week while still meeting their needs. That didn’t happen.
In small groups, discuss:
How could technology shorten the human work week?
Why do you think Keynes’ prediction didn’t come true?
What system traps in the economy may have prevented this shift?
Do you think a 15-hour work week would be possible or desirable today?
Extension: Write a short article, opinion piece, or podcast script imagining life in a world where the average person works just 15 hours per week. What would need to change in our systems to make this possible?
Option 3: Regenerative work
Time: 30-40 minutes
Choose one area of regenerative work (e.g. local food systems, ecological restoration, caring roles, community infrastructure). Write a job advertisement (text or text + graphics) for a role in this field. Your ad should include:
Job title and purpose
Main responsibilities
Skills and values required
Why this job is important for people and/or the planet
How the job is funded
Option 4: Minimum wage vs. living wage
Time: 30-40 minutes (depends on how difficult it is to find the wage information)
Research the current legal minimum wage and estimated living wage in your country or region. It is likely that the minimum wage is lower than the living wage.
Consider the following questions, individually or in pairs or small groups:
Why might a government set a minimum wage below the living wage?
What power dynamics influence whose voices are heard in wage decisions?
What would a regenerative approach to wage setting look like?
Option 5: Flexicurity in Denmark
Time: 40 minutes
Read the following short case study and answer the questions below, individually or discuss in pairs or a small group.
Denmark’s approach to employment is based on the idea of “flexicurity”—a mix of flexibility and security. Employers can hire and fire workers easily, which gives businesses freedom to adjust quickly when conditions change. But workers are protected by strong unemployment benefits and free access to retraining programmes. This makes it less risky to lose a job.
People in Denmark generally trust the system, because the government guarantees support if someone becomes unemployed. The state plays an active role in helping people move between jobs—offering job-matching services, training for new careers, and support for lifelong learning. To make this system work, Denmark collects higher taxes than many other countries, but in return, nearly everyone benefits.
This model helps keep unemployment low, and people often move between jobs without long-term harm. It also encourages innovation because businesses aren’t afraid to try new things, and workers are less afraid of job loss.
Discussion questions:
Which functions of the state (Section 5.1.3) are visible in Denmark’s approach?
Consider how the state is creating conditions for other institutions, protecting people, and guiding change.How does this model balance the needs of businesses and workers?
Think about what each side gains and what the trade-offs might be.What role do trust and taxation play in making this system work?
How might this be different in countries where trust in government is low?
Ideas for longer activities and projects are listed in Subtopic 5.5
Checking for understanding
Checking for understanding
Coming soon!
Further exploration
Further exploration
A Bit Rich - an article summarising a study done by the New Economics Foundation about the real value to society of different professions. Difficulty level for the article summary: easy
Rutger Bregman's Take on Society's Most Overlooked Waste: Moral Amibition - A ca. 4 minute video where historian Rutger Bregman argues that the biggest waste today is wasted talent, people stuck in pointless jobs or held back by cynicism. In this inspiring clip, he calls for ‘moral ambition’ and shows how hope, action, and example can spread. Audio is in Dutch with English subtitles. Difficulty level: easy
The minimum wage: Does it hurt workers? - A 10 minute video by The Economist about how economists have changed their views on minimum wages, and why real-world evidence matters more than theory in understanding its effects. Difficulty level: easy
What happens when jobs are guaranteed? - a New Yorker article profiling the universal job guarantee of the Austrian town of Marienthal. Difficulty level: medium
Bulls**t jobs - a ca. 3:30 minute video where anthropologist David Graeber explains ‘bulls**t jobs’, well-paid roles that feel pointless even to the worker. He contrasts them with low-paid, but essential jobs. A sharp critique of how we define value and work. Difficulty level: easy
CORE economics on unemployment
What happens when jobs are guaranteed? - a New Yorker article profiling the universal job guarantee of the Austrian town of Marienthal. Difficulty level: medium
How to fix the UK’s care crisis | openDemocracy - a 13 minute video about the care crisis of the UK, but applicable to all countries where the economy relies too much on markets for care and state care has been cut, while the cost of living requires multiple household members to work full time to meet their needs. Difficulty level: easy
Who controls the future of work? A 13 minute video from Institute for New Economic Thinking with economist Simon Johnson about how new technologies like AI can either widen inequality or support workers, depending on the choices we make as a society. Difficulty level: medium
Are we working too much? The UK’s four-day week trial - a short video from the University of Cambridge and Brenden Burshell about the positive results of four-day workweek trials in the UK. Difficulty level: easy
In these three videos, renowned development economist Jayati Ghosh explains feminist perspectives on the economy. Because so much paid and unpaid care work is done by women and girls, care is fundamentally a feminist economics issue. Difficulty level: medium
Time to Care: Unpaid and underpaid care work and the global inequality crisis - A report from Oxfam International about undervalued care work and its link to inequality. Report is available in Arabic, English, French, Korean and Spanish. Difficulty level: medium.
Sources
Sources
The CORE Econ Team (2023). The Economy 2.0: Macroeconomics. 1.3 Measuring the macroeconomy: Output, employment, unemployment, and inactivity. https://www.core-econ.org/the-economy/macroeconomics/01-supply-side-macroeconomy-03-output-employment-inactivity.html
Graeber, D. (2018). Bullshit jobs: A theory. Simon & Schuster.
International Labor Organization (n.d). Care work and care jobs for the future of decent work. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_633166.pdf
International Labour Organization. (n.d.). Youth statistics. ILOSTAT. https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/youth/
Reardon, J. (2018). Introducing a new economics: Pluralist, sustainable, & progressive. London: Pluto Press.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Bloomsbury Academic.
Tcherneva, P. R. (2020). The case for a job guarantee. Polity Press.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, March 8). The employment situation — February 2024 (USDL-24-0450). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
van Staveren, I. (2015). Economics after the crisis: An introduction to economics from a pluralist and global perspective. Routledge.
Terminology (in order of appearance)
Terminology (in order of appearance)
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