This blog started as a supplement for my Economics of Information course at MIT. However, it has expanded beyond that purpose and certainly should not be interpreted as official MIT views.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Technological Plateau or Promise?
Have we reached a technological plateau or is innovation still going strong? If you've read my book with Andy McAfee, you know where I stand. David Wessel of the WSJ discusses the pros and cons of the argument and ties it to our current economic woes in this five minute video.
This period seems eerily familiar to the period when most agriculture jobs were being replaced by technology. Many jobs that went away in this recession, aren't coming back. It's unfortunate, but we'll have to wait until new jobs are invented.
If you look at the total amount of patent applications sent to the USPTO, it implies that innovation is going strong.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/us_stat.htm
This period seems eerily familiar to the period when most agriculture jobs were being replaced by technology. Many jobs that went away in this recession, aren't coming back. It's unfortunate, but we'll have to wait until new jobs are invented.