From the article Taras B posted:
Allowing single-crew operation of airliners would provide substantial savings for airlines and help to alleviate forecast pilot shortages once the industry returns to sustained growth.
I've always had a feeling this line of reasoning would be used to justify the evolution to single pilot operations. If this shortage ever comes to fruition, which it never has, then why wouldn't the first option be to improve accessibility to training and improve entry level packages.