In no other U.S. recovery since World War II have companies been faster to boost spending on machines, while slower to add workers. Read the WSJ articleMan vs. Machine, a Jobless Recovery by: Timothy Aeppel(pdf). The article makes three interesting points about the decision by firms to either invest in capital or hire additional workers.

In your initial post to this discussion, address the following prompt based on what you've learned in this module:

In their production decisions, why are some firms substituting capital for labor? Discuss both the prices of inputs and the firms' technologies.