EconAir

  Introduction to Economic Theory   It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Charles Darwin                                               Introduction and Summary Economic theory, generalizations about economies, and economic history began as attempts to understand the Industrial Revolution. The economic theory posts on this blog describe and analyze economic development and economic growth since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s.  Some writers describe the current economic trends as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Other observers and commentators believe that information and communication technology and applications have become so central to the economy that we are in the Information Revolution. And others believe that we are at the beginning of the Biotechno...

  By Dennis Schuchman   Everyone is saying that AI is about to change the world, and they’re right. After  decades of missteps and false promises, AI is coming of age and it will change the  world in ways that I can’t even imagine.   I’ve been in the computer industry for over 40 years now, but I’m not a computer  scientist. In fact, I’ve never even taken a computer science course. I’ve learned a  number of programming languages, how various operating systems work and how to configure hardware and software systems and networks to create computing  environments that let users get their work done. So, I’m not a scientist, but maybe more of an engineer. Or maybe just a mechanic. When it comes to AI, then, I’m just as much an outsider as anyone. Well, almost.   I think that the way the media present AI gives people the wrong idea of what it’s about. People seem to think that AI combines the best of human brilliance with cold, hard computer logic....

  City Life for Most Residents SUMMARY   Global population has more than doubled since 1970, going from 3.7 billion to the current (November, 2023) total of 8.0 billion ( UN numbers ). The  Lancet  long-term projection is that world population will peak around 9.7 billion in the 2060s and then begin to decline, reaching around 8.8 billion people in 2100.   In the most recent United Nations projection (2024), global population is expected to peak at about 10.3 billion sometime in the 2080s and then fall to 10.2 billion in 2100.    Compared to the present, Africa is expected to have about 2.2 billion more people in 2100. The rest of the world is expected to see a decrease of about 1.4 billion people. One billion of the decrease will occur in China and India. The rest of the decrease will occur mostly in Europe, southeast and southern Asia, and Japan. The United States and Latin America (because of increasing population in Mexico) will see little chang...