Economics
3D Printing: Localized Production in a Globalized World
3D printing is the way goods will be produced in the world of information technology. The goods would be produced in great quantities, yet they need not be mass produced; each item produced could be customized by simply tweaking software to suit the needs and specifications of a specific customer. And the goods could be…
Read MoreEurope’s Main Economic Problem May Surprise You
On February 9, 2014, just over 50 percent of Swiss citizens voted in favor of a referendum restoring quotas for immigrants coming from other EU countries. Switzerland, a country of eight million, is not an EU member but has negotiated several agreements with the EU guaranteeing the free movement of goods, services, people and capital…
Read MoreThe Broken Window Fallacy and Keynesian Economics
Critics of Keynesian economics often use the so-called broken window fallacy, advanced in the 19th century by the French economist Frederick Bastiat, to reject the role of government spending in stabilizing the economy. According to this fallacy, if a hooligan breaks the window of a bakery, the subsequent repair expenditures by the baker will have…
Read MoreEmerging Markets: Recipe for a Sustainable Growth
After a bullish performance for more than the last decade, the emerging markets are again slowing down due to external pressures exerted by the global markets. Their aggressive growth was fueled by strong commodity prices, thanks to double digit growth of China compounded by easy and cheap capital partly due to low interest rates in…
Read MoreBitcoin as Electronic Currency
Exit the dollar, the euro, etc. Not so fast! Non-governmental currencies have existed before; however, an unregulated virtual currency is something new and different. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that was created in 2009 by a computer scientist known only under the pseudonym Sutoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoins are not held in bank accounts but in digital wallets…
Read MoreDealing with the Economic Crisis
The ongoing global economic crisis, if not addressed promptly, has the potential to further destabilize the existing world political and social order. As History shows, continued public discontent during economic and financial crises often provides a fertile ground for both revolutions and extremist movements. The recent Arab revolts owe as much to the current economic…
Read More