The words gig
economy, innovation, and entrepreneurship are thrown around and discussed
almost daily in the media and policy corridors in Jordan. They are also touted
as the three musketeers, the saviors from unemployment in Jordan. However,
given that there is little on the ground in terms of government support for all
three, it may be that there is a sinister motive for using such slogans.
اضافة اعلان
The gig economy describes a labor market that relies
heavily on temporary and part-time jobs that are filled by independent
workers/freelancers rather than permanent, full-time employees. Gig workers
have flexibility and while some workers may prefer this mode of employment, they
have little to no job security. Examples of gig workers include rideshare
drivers, food delivery drivers, self-employed consultants, and craftspeople.
Innovation, on the other hand, is the practical
implementation of ideas that lead to the introduction of new products (goods or
services) or improvement(s) in offering goods or services. While related to
invention, innovation and invention are not the same. Innovation is about
implementation and may not require an invention. Furthermore, innovations may require
significant support from (policy, funding, procedures, etc.) and interventions
(such as publicly funded research and projects) by the state, especially in
nascent economic systems.
Entrepreneurship refers to an entrepreneur, who is
typically the owner of a business enterprise who gathers the economic resources
to create an enterprise, assumes all risks and uncertainties and his payment is
profit. The concept of entrepreneurship goes back to the works of Richard
Cantillon and Adam Smith, in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and later
to Jean-Baptiste Say, in the
19th-century, who provided the definition. Works on entrepreneurship were
further elaborated on in the 20th century by Joseph Schumpeter, Carl Menger,
Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich von Hayek, among others.
So, according to the definition of entrepreneurship,
a small shop or fruit stand is an enterprise, and its owner/manager is an
entrepreneur. Anyone can become an entrepreneur and they may succeed or fail.
In fact the failure rate is quite high, which is why most people (especially
those that are risk averse) opt to work for others.
So where is the sinister move that I alluded
to? Let us go back to the mid-1990s when
another catchphrase was invented: “culture of shame”. According to the culture
of shame principle, Jordanians are too proud to work in menial jobs, and prefer
cushy office jobs, preferably, public sector employment, where they are endowed
with authority, job security, few work hours, health insurance, and social
security coverage. But then who would not prefer that?
Jordanians, I had argued at the time, are no
different or better genetically than any other people in the world; all people
would prefer the same when offered the opportunity. The result, however, was
that a good ready-made and easily at hand excuse became available to
policymakers to justify the rising unemployment rates and the futility of
policies in addressing such an embarrassing policy failure. All they needed to
be done was to blame the victim: even though jobs are available, Jordanians are
too proud to work.
Jordan, would-be innovators have little to no access to capital, a dearth of legal protection when it comes to intellectual property rights, and an unstable legislative environment where laws and by-laws are changed frequently and whimsically.
In the mid-1990s, the term entrepreneurship emerged
in Jordan and started to gain prominence. But while it is important to have
enterprises and entrepreneurs in society, the concept should not be used to
explain high unemployment rates and the failure to produce a job-creating
economy.
In a way, the term is being used to say that
Jordanians want to be employees, rather than employers; that they lack the
initiative to start their own ventures. Hence, the government is not at fault
for the high unemployment rates, people are.
Innovation started appearing in the common lingo and
dialogue in the new century. It is underpinned by a primary claim that
Jordanians are not innovative; that they are traditional, and do not seek new
ways to do things.
Again, this is a case of blaming the victim. Where
is the role of the government in innovation? In all the countries that have
been innovative and shown great success, government support had plenty to do
with the success. On the other hand, in Jordan, would-be innovators have little
to no access to capital, a dearth of legal protection when it comes to
intellectual property rights, and an unstable legislative environment where
laws and by-laws are changed frequently and whimsically.
The current arguments claim that Jordanians are at
fault, and not a government that relegates such an important task to aid
programs and projects, which last for a few years and are then uprooted.
Sadly, one has yet to see one aid-funded project
with focus on innovation that has lasted beyond its initially stipulated
lifetime because the government adopted it and decided to fund its permanence.
Back to the gig economy, which is gaining in
popularity, with youths encouraged to engage in it as a solution to their 50
percent unemployment rate.
Is it a solution? Does not a country need a core
workforce that gains and builds skill and specialization over decades of work?
Does not a country need institutions that hire graduates and workers on full-time
basis so they can move from youth to adulthood? Is the solution for all of us
to work part time, have no proper medical insurance, and no job stability?
Of course not, but this is what is being espoused by
the thought leaders with the blessings of policymakers as the solution to the
economic downturn and the rising unemployment.
Slogans come and go, but they will not whittle down
the unemployment rate. They are, simply, easy to use when one is buying time to
conclude his or her term in office.
The country does not need to change capitalism; it
needs to become a capitalist.
Yusuf Mansur is CEO of the Envision Consulting Group and
former minister of state for economic affairs.
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