"The Reshoring Trap and Inequality: Can Technology Transfer Survive Automation?" with Dr Jonathan Moyer

Historical development models suggest that manufacturing is the "unlock" for emerging economies to climb the value chain. However, as advanced economies (including the U.S. and Colorado’s tech hubs) adopt AI and high-precision robotics, the "low-cost labor" advantage of the developing world is eroding, leading to automation-induced reshoring.

This talk begins by introducing the International Futures (IFs) system—a global modeling tool that cuts across a wide range of issues areas and used across the UN system. We will discuss how the UN uses IFs to understand and shape expectations about a wide range of topics eventually focusing on SDG9.  Here we begin to explore how reshoring of manufacturing in the West might deepen inequality in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. 

Jonathan Moyer is the Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Institute for International Futures and an Associate Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He leads the continued development and application of International Futures (IFs), the integrated global modeling system that serves as the backbone for much of the UN system’s long-term forecasting and policy analysis.

Dr. Moyer’s work focuses on the intersection of technological disruption, economic development, and international governance. He frequently advises multilateral organizations and governments on long-term structural trends, including the impact of automation and reshoring on global inequality and the trajectory of the Sustainable Development Goals.