EconAir

FIND POSTS BY CATEGORY CATEGORIES   The Beginning of the Industrial Revolution The theme of the following four sections of the blog is that innovation, not price competition, is the basis for understanding economic growth, competition, and analysis. Basic Concepts and Theory Market Behavior and Structure Market Dynamics and Information:  How Markets Work Economic Theory and Markets There is beginning a historic change in future populations. This will interact with other variables and have a serious, maybe profound, effect on future economic growth. Demographics and Economics American Economic History American History Management The world seems to be in the midst of radical political and social change. Where are we going? Can studying past periods and countries facing disrupting change help us navigate our times? Maybe. World War I:  The Beginning of the 20th Century The Roman Republic and America - Differences and Some Possible Parallels Economic and Fiscal Policy...

  The Pantheon   Remember, Roman, that it is yours to lead other people. It is your special gift.      Virgil,  The Aeneid   We are the indispensable nation.  We stand tall.  We see further into the future.      Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright                  Imagine an educated Roman officer from around 20 BC. He had spent most of his military career in the last decades of the Roman Republic and now is a legion commander in the first years of the Roman Empire of Caesar Augustus. Rome is at the height of its power and influence, acquired through conquest during the Roman Republic. Now imagine he is transported through time to today’s Washington. After marveling at the new technology (horseless chariots?), like any curious tourist he would start to look for similarities to his hometown, Rome.   The similarities would not be hard to find.  Both ci...

Roman Legion Why Study Rome? Americans have focused on comparisons between Rome and America twice in American history.  The first time was during the period from before the Revolution to after the ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, when the founding fathers and others looked to the Roman Republic for ideas and inspiration on how to structure the new government. After the American Revolution, the founding fathers, having read the Roman authors detailing the collapse of the Roman republic, worried about internal threats to the survival of their new republic.   The second time was when the United States became a superpower, especially after WWII, and then again after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Commentators compared America to the Roman Empire at the height of its power. There was some discussion about how America became a permanent warfare state and how it affected domestic democracy and civil society. ...