G11 - Week 7 - Day 3

In-class work

1. Indirect taxes' Effect on Supply - part 2
1. Exercises 1-2 on page 99
1. Exercises 3-7 on page 103-104 (HL Only)
2. Calculating the Effects of a Specific, Indirect Tax (HL Only)
1. Exercises 8-18 on page 107
3. The Effects of a Per Unit Subsidy
1. Exercises 19-23 on page 109
4. Calculating the Effects of a Subsidy using Linear Equations (HL Only)
1. Exercises 24-34 on page 112
5. Determining the Effects of Price Ceilings and Price Floors
6. Calculating the Effects of Price Controls using Linear Equations (HL Only)
1. Exercises 34-46

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From the blogosphere

1. Economic Question of the Day
2. Trump Plans Quote of the Day
3. Immigration and the  experts

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Currently Reading

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The first industrial revolution spanned from about 1760 to around 1840. Triggered by the construction of railroads and the invention of the steam engine, it ushered in mechanical production. The second industrial revolution, which started in the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, made mass production possible, fostered by the advent of electricity and the assembly line. The third industrial revolution began in the 1960s. It is usually called the computer or digital revolution because it was catalysed by the development of semiconductors, mainframe computing (1960s), personal computing (1970s and 80s) and the internet (1990s). 

Mindful of the various definitions and academic arguments used to describe the first three industrial revolutions, I believe that today we are at the beginning of a fourth industrial revolution. It began at the turn of this century and builds on the digital revolution. It is characterized by a much more ubiquitous and mobile internet, by smaller and more powerful sensors that have become cheaper, and by artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Digital technologies that have computer hardware, software and networks at their core are not new, but in a break with the third industrial revolution, they are becoming more sophisticated and integrated and are, as a result, transforming societies and the global economy. This is the reason why Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee have famously referred to this period as “the second machine age” 2, the title of their 2014 book, stating that the world is at an inflection point where the effect of these digital technologies will manifest with “full force” through automation and and the making of “unprecedented things”.

Schwab, Klaus. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Kindle Locations 113-127). World Economic Forum. Kindle Edition.