Andreas Söderberg [email protected] 3D-SCANNING PIPELINE FOR GAMES.
Gabriel Söderberg, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University.
-
Upload
bethanie-haynes -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
2
Transcript of Gabriel Söderberg, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University.
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: BIRTH OF
MODERN ECONOMIC GROWTH AND
SKEPTICISM TOWARDS ITS SUSTAINABILITY
Gabriel Söderberg, Department of Economic History, Uppsala
University
This lecture
The Industrial Revolution: - What was its core? - How did it change the world? - How does it affect us?
Skepticism towards its sustainability: - Early proponents - End of skepticism during 20th century and
return around the 1970s - Relevance of question today – with your help
What was the Industrial Revolution?
England 1760-1830 Replacement of organic energy (wood,
animals, human work), water and wind with fossil energy
Replacement of human work with machines
Enormous increase in productivity Enormous increse in use of natural
resources
Three Patterns of Development
Breaking the Energy Barrier
Factories close to energy sources: water, wood lands
Transition to fossil fuel through a number of technological innovations
Expensive labor incentives for machines Problems with coal mining: water in tunnels
steam engine for better pumping more coal Coal: portable, extremely compact factories
can be set up anywhere Coal as energy, iron as material better
transport increased world trade
”The Dismal Science”
Thomas Malthus 1766-1834
David Ricardo 1772-1823
Malthus
Humans must have food + food supply increases slowly + humans cannot control their reproduction = Population will grow faster than food supply
Increased food supply increased population return of misery optimists are wrong
Constraining factor: agricultural technology
Ricardo
Growth not possible in the long run – stationary state
Diminishing return of the soil more expensive food higher wages less profits less investments end of growth
Two ways to counter this: technology and free trade
- technology not to be trusted freetrade as ideal partly explained be technology pessimism!!
World GDP/Capita 1900-2000
”The Golden Age” 1945-1970
Time of great optimism, reduction of inequality, increase in general welfare for the masses, large and stable economic growth
Technology and science widely accepted as the driving force
The optimism of the Enlightenment and modernity is mixed with economic theory
Post-War Technology Optimism
Simon Kuznets 1901-1985
Robert Solow 1924-
Technology and science important…
The reason for economic growth is:”…the vast increase in the stock of useful knowledge…the underlying capacity of the knowledge transmitted to control production processes, the emergence of experimental science and the empirical outlook which, building upon past attainments of mankind, provided the indispensible basis for modern economic growth” – Kuznets 1965
…but taken for granted.
The Solow model (1956): Y=A+K+L A=Y-K-L technological development is the thing left!
The most important factor, but is left unexplained in the model!
Technological development is taken for granted, ”a gift” from public funding of science
World GDP/Capita 1900-2000
Worse times…
1970s: oil crisis, stagnant growth, ideological and theoretical shift
Crisis of values: growth questioned, environmental movement skeptical about eternal growth
Club of Rome founded 1968 ”Limits to Growth” (1972) – population growth
and consumption needs to be reduced; sells in 12 million copies, in 30 languages
Solow’s Criticism: ” "The authors load their case by letting some things grow exponentially and others not. Population, capital and pollution grow exponentially in all models, but technologies for expanding resources and controlling pollution are permitted to grow, if at all, only in discrete increments."
World GDP/Capita 1900-2000
Return of growth (pre-2008)
Pro market shift in ideology and economic theory
Financial deregulations, innovations
Increased globalization
Chinese industrialization cheap consumer goods
Present day
Financial crisis part of end of growth? - Yes: No growth opportunity capital
goes into financial assets building bubbles
-No: Depressions natural part of industrial society, followed by new growth
Yes: Environmental problems and depletion of oil will stop growth
No: Science and technology close to major breakthroughs
Close to debate around 1800
Questions and comments?