Category Archives: Economics

THE PARADOX THAT THE COMPUTER HAS NOT INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY. It seems that the computer is affecting every aspect of our lives. However, Professor Gordon’s conclusions are consistent with a paradox that economists have been debating for the last 25 years. … Continue reading →

IS THE “COMPUTER INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION” A DISAPPOINTMENT? Professor Gordon captions one section of this paper: “Inventions are not all created equal”. In fact, he says that: “The great inventions of IR #2 [Industrial Revolution 2—the inventions that were made in … Continue reading →

THREE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS RATHER THAN CONTINUAL INNOVATION. Robert Gordon’s summary points out that economists have generally assumed that “economic growth is a continuous process that will persist forever.” The basis of that assumption is another assumption: that technological improvement is … Continue reading →

ARE THE PAST 250 YEARS OF RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH ONLY AN INTERLUDE? Professor Gordon is an authority on economic productivity, which can be thought of as the output that we can achieve or have achieved from defined inputs. He raises … Continue reading →

COULD FAILURE OF INNOVATION END ECONOMIC GROWTH? (COMMENT) In a comment, Henry Nejako followed on this post about how thermodynamic considerations can put a ceiling on economic growth at some point in in the next couple hundred years with a … Continue reading →

TURKEY RED—HISTORY. We all thought at the time that “Turkey Red” was an unpromising name for for marketing a lipstick. I continue to think so, but I recently came across the history of the color, which turns out to be … Continue reading →