EconAir

    INTRODUCTION   Even after 96 years since the start of the Great Depression, there remains controversy about the causes. It is possible to draw up a list of probable causes but there is no consensus about the relative importance or the interaction of the causal variables.   GENERAL APPROACH   The basic approach of modern macroeconomic theory is to view a national economy as a relatively stable, self-equilibrating mechanism that is capable of sustained economic growth over a long period. Recessions and inflationary periods occur because of some kind of “external shock” to the system that impacts components of aggregate demand or aggregate supply. In this model, external shocks (exogenous variables) include the sudden and large increase in the cost of vital inputs such as oil, sudden and large changes in competition from imports or fall in the demand for exports, unexpected changes in nominal interest rates, monetary policy by the Fed, and fiscal policy (govern...

The Rocket - Famous Steam Locomotive England , more than any country, started the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s.   And for over 150 years, England continued to discover new products and technologies.   Yet England eventually fell behind the United States and Germany in industrial technology, commercial innovation, production efficiency, and economic growth.   What happened? The seeds of England ’s relative economic decline were there right at the beginning. Producing cotton cloth was England's first big industry.  But m illwrights, mechanics with specialized knowledge of how to build wool and cotton mills and their machinery, felt frustrated because they seldom became part owners and couldn’t find financing to start their own mills.   Some illegally emigrated to the United States and France .   Much of the early American textile mill technology was due to English immigrants and English technology.   The first cotton spin...