EconAir

“The age is running mad after innovation.” Samuel Johnson In the Beginning Why study economic theory and analysis, read economic history, and make economic forecasts? The short answer is because of the Industrial Revolution and the attempt to understand its dynamics and structure. Economics is an attempt to understand the material world we live in, the environment created by the Industrial Revolution. THE BEGINNING OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION The Industrial Revolution began in England in the late 1700s. It then spread to America  and western European countries. This post will summarize its origins in England and describe the early decades of the Industrial Revolution in America. The Industrial Revolution was a radical break in history. But in England, many of the preconditions were already in place, as can be seen by the history of the Wedgwood company. The revolutionary generation that first adopted steam engines saw t...

      It was a lovely summer day – nice and warm, not too hot. Ribbit hopped down to the pond and decided to tan her legs. She was lying lazily on a lily pad, half asleep. Whenever she felt a little movement in the air, she quickly stuck out her long tongue and caught a fly. Then she caught a grasshopper. Before Ribbit could eat the grasshopper, it cried out “Wait! If I could teach you how to hop better, would you let me go?” Ribbit thought about the frog race that was about to start in the big, open field. Ribbit didn’t enter the races because most of the other frogs were bigger or had stronger legs than her. “OK,” said Ribbit. The grasshopper said, “I’ve been watching all you frogs hop and you’re really not very good at it. Some of you are too big and fat and others hop too hard. That’s why you hop a little bit and then have to rest. I’ll show you how to be a better hopper. When you hop, lean your body forward, push your face up and out and stick out your tongue. That’l...

Corporate Growth Strategies  INTRODUCTION The ideas and analysis of the prior chapters can be used as the basis for corporate strategies to drive corporate growth and development. The trends and dynamics of economic development and economic growth determine corporate strategies. This chapter will use the ideas of opportunity cost, the role of information systems, and the mix of defensive and innovation strategies to explore corporate strategies. It is not just a question of corporate growth. It is also a question of corporate survival. Statistical evidence indicates large public companies are disappearing at increasing rates. Companies and their managers have to adapt to changes in the external environment if they are to stay competitive. They must react when there are changes like a shift in consumer tastes, new production technology, new competing products or services, new software to manage the company, new competitors, or changes in the macro economy.  Survival in the...

  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...