Figure 1.12 shows the position of firms and families in the economy, and the flows that occur within the economy and between the economy and the biosphere.
It's sad to see that from the biosphere we get land, materials, energy and more but the only thing that goes back into the environment is pollution waste. What this diagram doesn't show is that the pollution affects the natural resources we take in later on.
The most important difference is that the government of South Korea (along with a few very large corporations) played a leading role in directing the process of development, explicitly promoting some industries, requiring firms to compete in foreign markets and also providing high quality education for its workforce.
I think it's good that not just the government was pushing for the development of certain industries but also that if the government is educating it's people to make the right economic calls it will benefit the country so much. It shows the government and economic leaders aren't clashing head but working together to help each other progress the country.
The division of Germany at the end of the Second World War into two separate economic systems—centrally planned in the east, capitalist in the west—provided a natural experiment.
It's definitely sad that this happened but scientists are right that you can't study 7 billion people so an event like this is perfect to study after it ends because it already happened and scientists can now learn from it.
When you hear the word ‘market’ what word do you think of? ‘Competition’ probably is what came to mind.
When I read the word market I not only thought of competition but I thought of a farmers market where you can by fresh food and goods and I also thought of market as a group of people in which you are trying to get them to buy whatever you are selling.
In the middle circle most production is done either by individuals (shoemakers or blacksmiths, for example) or in families (for example, on a farm). Prior to 1600 a great many of the economies of the world were like this.
It's interesting to think most of the world had an economy before the 1600s that was products made by individuals and families. Whereas now in 2022 most products are made on a production line where a ot of the work is done by machines and computers that humans are supervising.
Since most of us live in capitalist economies, it is easy to overlook the importance of institutions that are fundamental for capitalism to work well. They are so familiar, we hardly ever notice them
It's crazy to think that something so fundamental to a countries economic growth could be so overlooked but in the same sense it's understandable. Everyone is so busy in their own lives we forget to look at what's happening around us.
we use natural resources in production, which may in turn affect the environment we live in and its capacity to support future production.
The more natural resources we use the more they affect the environment and the faster we kill the little natural resources we have left and then we will be left with no natural resources.
creating light by a campfire took about 1 hour of labour to produce 17 lm-hr,
It's crazy to think it took one hour of labor to get 17lm-hr because now we just go buy wood and start the fire with a lighter and it will last as long as we want it to.
Goods and services that we do not buy, such as healthcare and education, if they are provided by a government.
I would like to have more information on how they would compare and measure the wellbeing of someone in a country that has free education and a country where most students have education debt.
Norway, the country with the second highest GDP per capita, does not have a particularly tall skyscraper (it is hidden between the skyscrapers for Singapore and the third richest country, the US) because income is more evenly distributed in Norway than in some other rich countries.
I think it's great that Norway has found a way to be so high up with it's GDP but make sure that money is balanced throughout their country.
When sustained growth occurred, it began at different times in different countries, leading to vast differences in living standards around the world.
Is there any way that scientists could use the data they have to help 3rd world countries get on their feet and raise the standard of living?