Category Archives: Economics

THE VIKING TAR INDUSTRY.

Posted on November 5, 2018 by Philip

THE VIKING TAR INDUSTRY. Of course, correlation of two time series (increased tar production and foreign conquest) does not prove causation. In this article at the Smithsonian site, Jason Daley points out the large volume of tar that would have … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | Leave a comment

TAR AND VIKINGS.

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Philip

TAR AND VIKINGS. This article by Robin McKie in the Guardian (November 4, 2018) begins: “Vikings conquered Europe thanks to an unexpected technological innovation. They learned how to make tar on an industrial scale and used it to waterproof their … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Science | Leave a comment

ELEPHANTS AND BEES—BEE FENCES.

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Philip

ELEPHANTS AND BEES—BEE FENCES. Apparently, bees are the only species (except for humans) that elephants are afraid of. This wikipedia entry describes bee hive fences, which consist of a single strand of wire connecting bee hives set ten yards apart. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Science | Leave a comment

THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS OF THE FIRST FOLIO IN THE 18TH CENTURY.

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Philip

THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS OF THE FIRST FOLIO IN THE 18TH CENTURY. Mary Jane writes: I am in the process of reading an amazing book by a prize-winning American author named Paul Collins. This book, published in 2009, is called THE … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Literature, Shakespeare, Theater | Leave a comment

THE SUCCESS OF A MORE KEYNESIAN POLICY?

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Philip

THE SUCCESS OF A MORE KEYNESIAN POLICY? Kids, I pointed out here on July 27, 2010 that very little was being said about something Keynes emphasized, devoting roughly one sixth of his book to it: Private Investment. I argued here … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | Leave a comment

iPHONES AND LIGHT.

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Philip

iPHONES AND LIGHT. Kids, it will occur to you that the iPHONE represents the kind of dramatic technological change that the improvement in the quality of light displayed when lighting went from the candle to the electric light bulb. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | Leave a comment

AS WITH LIGHT, A LOT OF QUALITY CHANGES ARE NOT MEASURED.

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Philip

AS WITH LIGHT, A LOT OF QUALITY CHANGES ARE NOT MEASURED. Nordhaus says: “In principle, it would be possible to link automobiles with horses so as to construct a price of travel, but this has not been done in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | Leave a comment

THE PRICE OF ILLUMINATION IN LUMENS

Posted on October 17, 2018 by Philip

THE PRICE OF ILLUMINATION IN LUMENS. Nordhaus has a table on page 49 of his paper which shows the prices of different lighting technologies in terms of illumination in cents per thousand lumen-hours. He begins with open fires; then neolithic … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Science | Leave a comment

NORDHAUS ON THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF LIGHT.

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Philip

NORDHAUS ON THE ECONOMIC HISTORY OF LIGHT. In his summary of Nordhaus’s career, Tyler Cowen calls this Nordhaus paper on the economic history of light “splendid and still-underrated”. Nordhaus begins with the observation that in studying the the long-term growth … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | Leave a comment

NORDHAUS ON WHO BENEFITS FROM TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE.

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Philip

NORDHAUS ON WHO BENEFITS FROM TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE. After the announcement of the Nobel Prize, Professor Donald Boudreaux posted here at the Cafe Hayek site to call attention to Nordhaus’s 2004 paper “Schumpeterian Profits in the American Economy: Theory and Measurement”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Science | Leave a comment