Case studies of social value of work - Revision history

Jsinick: /* Programming and software development */

2013-09-26T23:53:22Z

Programming and software development

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	Engineering underpins technology, which has substantially improved quality of life. It's difficult to say how much the typical engineer		Engineering underpins technology, which has substantially improved quality of life. It's difficult to say how much the typical engineer

	~~== Programming and software development ==~~

	== Finance ==		== Finance ==

Jsinick: /* Engineering */

2013-09-26T23:52:52Z

Engineering

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	== Engineering ==		== Engineering ==

			''Benefit to customers''

			Engineering underpins technology, which has substantially improved quality of life. It's difficult to say how much the typical engineer

	== Programming and software development ==		== Programming and software development ==

Jsinick: /* Finance */

2013-09-26T23:42:24Z

Finance

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	Finance is a diverse sector, and the social value or disvalue of finance depends on the subsector. The degree to which a given consideration applies to a subsector of finance depents on the subsector.		Finance is a diverse sector, and the social value or disvalue of finance depends on the subsector. The degree to which a given consideration applies to a subsector of finance depents on the subsector.

	'''Benefit to customers'''		''Benefit to customers''

	Basic banking services are a necessity: people need institutions that enable them to save money and take out loans.		Basic banking services are a necessity: people need institutions that enable them to save money and take out loans.
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	There are instances of fraud in finance, where an investment advisor deceives investors. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway\| Bernard Madoff]'s fraud resulted in investors losing $18 billion. If you work in this capacity, you will harm customers.		There are instances of fraud in finance, where an investment advisor deceives investors. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway\| Bernard Madoff]'s fraud resulted in investors losing $18 billion. If you work in this capacity, you will harm customers.

	'''Positive externalities'''		''Positive externalities''

	Investment can lead to economic growth, increasing everyone's wealth in the long run. ~~Financiers~~ who make financial markets more efficient may increase economic growth.		Investment can lead to economic growth, increasing everyone's wealth in the long run. Finance workers who make financial markets more efficient may increase economic growth.

	'''Negative externalities'''		''Negative externalities''

	* People in finance can be thought of as people who look for resources that other people haven't noticed, and taking them. If these resources are resources that others wouldn't have noticed, then this increases the total pool of resources available to people. But if these resources are resources that others would have noticed soon afterward, the person who takes the resources makes money for his or her customers while depriving the customers of other people in finance of those resources. So working in finance can cause harm to investors other than one's customers.		* People in finance can be thought of as people who look for resources that other people haven't noticed, and taking them. If these resources are resources that others wouldn't have noticed, then this increases the total pool of resources available to people. But if these resources are resources that others would have noticed soon afterward, the person who takes the resources makes money for his or her customers while depriving the customers of other people in finance of those resources. So working in finance can cause harm to investors other than one's customers.
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	* People in finance can be responsible for speculative bubbles that lead to stock market crashes, which can result in people unexpectedly losing their savings, and increase unemployment.		* People in finance can be responsible for speculative bubbles that lead to stock market crashes, which can result in people unexpectedly losing their savings, and increase unemployment.

	'''Replaceability'''		''Replaceability''

	~~The fact that salaries in~~ finance are high suggests that		It's unclear how replaceable finance workers are. In sectors of finance where workers have very high wages, the high wages suggests that there's high demand, which suggests that workers are not replaceable.

	== Management ==		== Management ==

Jsinick: /* Medicine */

2013-09-26T23:38:49Z

Medicine

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	== Medicine ==		== Medicine ==

	''Benefit to customers'' — You can get a sense for how much social value doctors and nurses contribute by (i) considering how much you yourself have benefited from them and (ii) using the fact that doctors see ~1000 patients per year.		''Benefit to customers''

	~~''Positive externalities'' — By keeping people healthy,~~ doctors and nurses ~~reduce the amount of time people's families~~ have ~~to spend taking care of~~ them~~, as well as~~ the ~~amount of time they can spend working and taking care of others~~.		You can get a sense for how much social value doctors and nurses contribute by (i) considering how much you yourself have benefited from them and (ii) using the fact that doctors see ~1000 patients per year.

	''~~Negative~~ externalities'' ~~— Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.~~		''Positive externalities''

	''Replaceability'' ~~— There~~'s no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| over half] of people who apply to medical school [\| are rejected]. ~~Unless you~~'~~re significantly better at being~~ a ~~doctor than~~ the ~~strongest~~ medical school ~~rejects would be, you're replaceable, and the value that you contribute~~ is ~~the value~~ of ~~the work~~ of ~~your replacement rather than the immediate, direct value~~ that ~~you add as a doctor~~. ~~For nurses, the situation is different: it~~'s been [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_shortage#United_States\| claimed] that there will be a major need for additional nurses in the near future, suggesting that if you become a nurse, you wouldn't be replaceable, but [http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/06/04/why-new-nurses-cant-find-jobs-no-really/\| others] have questioned whether this is true.		By keeping people healthy, doctors and nurses reduce the amount of time people's families have to spend taking care of them, as well as the amount of time they can spend working and taking care of others.

			''Negative externalities''

			Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.

			''Replaceability''

			There's no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| over half] of people who apply to medical school [\| are rejected]. It's unclear whether this is because a large number of applicants are unqualified, or because the number of medical school spots is artificially limited by regulations.

			The American Association of Colleges of Nursing [http://www.aacn.nche.edu/news/articles/2012/enrollment-data\| reports] that about 60% of qualified baccalaureate nursing school applicants are accepted to nursing school. The acceptance rate may be higher for associate degree programs. It's been [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_shortage#United_States\| claimed] that there will be a major need for additional nurses in the near future, suggesting that if you become a nurse, you wouldn't be replaceable, but [http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/06/04/why-new-nurses-cant-find-jobs-no-really/\| others] have questioned whether this is true.

	== Engineering ==		== Engineering ==

Jsinick: /* Finance */

2013-09-26T23:27:14Z

Finance

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	* Some people in finance make very risky bets in situations where they don't have enough money to cover their potential losses. If the bet doesn't pan out, it can fall on the government to cover the loss, wasting tax-payer dollars.		* Some people in finance make very risky bets in situations where they don't have enough money to cover their potential losses. If the bet doesn't pan out, it can fall on the government to cover the loss, wasting tax-payer dollars.
	* People in finance can be responsible for speculative bubbles that lead to stock market crashes, which can result in people unexpectedly losing their savings, and increase unemployment.		* People in finance can be responsible for speculative bubbles that lead to stock market crashes, which can result in people unexpectedly losing their savings, and increase unemployment.

			'''Replaceability'''

			The fact that salaries in finance are high suggests that

	== Management ==		== Management ==

Jsinick: /* Finance */

2013-09-26T23:24:24Z

Finance

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	== Finance ==		== Finance ==

	Finance is a diverse sector, and the social value or disvalue of finance depends on the ~~sector~~		Finance is a diverse sector, and the social value or disvalue of finance depends on the subsector. The degree to which a given consideration applies to a subsector of finance depents on the subsector.

	'''Benefit to customers'''		'''Benefit to customers'''
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	There are instances of fraud in finance, where an investment advisor deceives investors. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway\| Bernard Madoff]'s fraud resulted in investors losing $18 billion. If you work in this capacity, you will harm customers.		There are instances of fraud in finance, where an investment advisor deceives investors. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway\| Bernard Madoff]'s fraud resulted in investors losing $18 billion. If you work in this capacity, you will harm customers.

			'''Positive externalities'''

			Investment can lead to economic growth, increasing everyone's wealth in the long run. Financiers who make financial markets more efficient may increase economic growth.

			'''Negative externalities'''

			* People in finance can be thought of as people who look for resources that other people haven't noticed, and taking them. If these resources are resources that others wouldn't have noticed, then this increases the total pool of resources available to people. But if these resources are resources that others would have noticed soon afterward, the person who takes the resources makes money for his or her customers while depriving the customers of other people in finance of those resources. So working in finance can cause harm to investors other than one's customers.
			* Some people in finance make very risky bets in situations where they don't have enough money to cover their potential losses. If the bet doesn't pan out, it can fall on the government to cover the loss, wasting tax-payer dollars.
			* People in finance can be responsible for speculative bubbles that lead to stock market crashes, which can result in people unexpectedly losing their savings, and increase unemployment.

	== Management ==		== Management ==

Jsinick: /* Finance */

2013-09-26T23:07:34Z

Finance

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:07, 26 September 2013
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	== Finance ==		== Finance ==

			Finance is a diverse sector, and the social value or disvalue of finance depends on the sector

			'''Benefit to customers'''

			Basic banking services are a necessity: people need institutions that enable them to save money and take out loans.

			There are large parts of finance that don't contribute substantial value to customers. For example, about 66% of mutual funds [http://www.forbes.com/sites/richardfinger/2013/04/15/five-reasons-your-mutual-fund-probably-underperforms-the-market/\| perform worse] than the stock market as a whole does. It's plausible that if you work in this capacity, you won't help customers very much.

			There are exceptional examples of financial firms that have consistently generated outsized returns for customers. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway\| Berkshire Hathaway] averaged ~20% returns over the past 48 years (compared with ~7% for the stock market as a whole). If you have the ability to work at such a firm, you may be able to help customers significantly.

			There are instances of fraud in finance, where an investment advisor deceives investors. For example, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway\| Bernard Madoff]'s fraud resulted in investors losing $18 billion. If you work in this capacity, you will harm customers.

	== Management ==		== Management ==

Jsinick: /* Medicine */

2013-09-26T22:24:26Z

Medicine

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	''Negative externalities'' — Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.		''Negative externalities'' — Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.

	''Replaceability'' — There's no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| over half] of people who apply to medical school [\| are rejected]. Unless you're significantly better at being a doctor than the strongest medical school rejects would be, you're replaceable, and the value that you contribute is the value of the work of your replacement rather than the immediate, direct value that you add as a doctor. For nurses, the situation is different: it's been [~~claimed\|~~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_shortage#United_States] that there will be a major need for additional nurses in the near future, suggesting that if you become a nurse, you wouldn't be replaceable, but [http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/06/04/why-new-nurses-cant-find-jobs-no-really/\| others] have questioned whether this is true.		''Replaceability'' — There's no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| over half] of people who apply to medical school [\| are rejected]. Unless you're significantly better at being a doctor than the strongest medical school rejects would be, you're replaceable, and the value that you contribute is the value of the work of your replacement rather than the immediate, direct value that you add as a doctor. For nurses, the situation is different: it's been [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_shortage#United_States\| claimed] that there will be a major need for additional nurses in the near future, suggesting that if you become a nurse, you wouldn't be replaceable, but [http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/06/04/why-new-nurses-cant-find-jobs-no-really/\| others] have questioned whether this is true.

	== Engineering ==		== Engineering ==

Jsinick: /* Medicine */

2013-09-26T22:23:54Z

Medicine

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:23, 26 September 2013
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	''Negative externalities'' — Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.		''Negative externalities'' — Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.

	''Replaceability'' — There's no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: ~~over half of people who apply to medical school~~ [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| are rejected]. Unless you're significantly better at being a doctor than the strongest medical school rejects would be, you're replaceable, and the value that you contribute is the value of the work of your replacement rather than the immediate, direct value that you add as a doctor.		''Replaceability'' — There's no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| over half] of people who apply to medical school [\| are rejected]. Unless you're significantly better at being a doctor than the strongest medical school rejects would be, you're replaceable, and the value that you contribute is the value of the work of your replacement rather than the immediate, direct value that you add as a doctor. For nurses, the situation is different: it's been [claimed\| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_shortage#United_States] that there will be a major need for additional nurses in the near future, suggesting that if you become a nurse, you wouldn't be replaceable, but [http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2012/06/04/why-new-nurses-cant-find-jobs-no-really/\| others] have questioned whether this is true.

	== Engineering ==		== Engineering ==

Jsinick: /* Medicine */

2013-09-26T22:18:21Z

Medicine

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:18, 26 September 2013
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	''Benefit to customers'' — You can get a sense for how much social value doctors and nurses contribute by (i) considering how much you yourself have benefited from them and (ii) using the fact that doctors see ~1000 patients per year.		''Benefit to customers'' — You can get a sense for how much social value doctors and nurses contribute by (i) considering how much you yourself have benefited from them and (ii) using the fact that doctors see ~1000 patients per year.

	''Positive externalities'' — By keeping people healthy, doctors and nurses reduce the amount of time people's families have to spend taking care of them, as well as the amount of time they can spend working and taking care of others.		''Positive externalities'' — By keeping people healthy, doctors and nurses reduce the amount of time people's families have to spend taking care of them, as well as the amount of time they can spend working and taking care of others.

	''Negative externalities'' — Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.		''Negative externalities'' — Doctors sometimes perform expensive, mostly unnecessary procedures, which health insurance companies have to pay for, which boosts the cost of health care for everyone.
	''Replaceability'' — There's no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: over half of people who apply to medical school [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| are rejected]. Unless you're significantly better at being a doctor than the strongest medical school rejects would be, you're replaceable, and the value that you contribute is the value of the work of your replacement rather than the direct value that you add as a doctor.
			''Replaceability'' — There's no shortage of people who are willing to become doctors: over half of people who apply to medical school [https://www.aamc.org/download/157450/data/table24-mcatgpagridall2008-10.pdf.pdf\| are rejected]. Unless you're significantly better at being a doctor than the strongest medical school rejects would be, you're replaceable, and the value that you contribute is the value of the work of your replacement rather than the immediate, direct value that you add as a doctor.

	== Engineering ==		== Engineering ==