17 | Division of Labor
The division of labor creates opportunities to serve and be served by vast multitudes. In an advanced commercial society, people produce things for customers they may never meet.
A blog post on the division of labor, by Mike Munger.
A simple example of hamburgers being made at home versus at a restaurant can help illuminate the explosion of prosperity since the Industrial Revolution.
In this video, Professor Boudreaux explains how the specialization of knowledge helped his two-year old son overcome a life-threatening illness.
This gif is an excellent example of the concept of division of labor.
This gif is an excellent example of the concept of division of labor. https://i.imgur.com/xerxnGk.gifv
A blog post on the division of labor, by Mike Munger.
A simple example of hamburgers being made at home versus at a restaurant can help illuminate the explosion of prosperity since the Industrial Revolution.
In this video, Professor Boudreaux explains how the specialization of knowledge helped his two-year old son overcome a life-threatening illness.
This gif is an excellent example of the concept of division of labor.
This gif is an excellent example of the concept of division of labor. https://i.imgur.com/xerxnGk.gifv
The crew working for Ferrari and managing this pit station are an excellent example of division of labor.
On a timeline of human history, the recent rise in standards of living resembles a hockey stick -- flatlining for all of human history and then skyrocketing in just the last few centuries.
Extreme poverty is defined as living at a consumption (or income) level below 1.90 "international $" per day. International $ are adjusted for price differences between countries and for price changes over time (inflation).
World population living in extreme poverty, 1820-2015
Extreme poverty is defined as living at a consumption (or income) level below 1.90 "international $" per day. International $ are adjusted for price differences between countries and for price changes over time (inflation).
Data obtained from: World Poverty in absolute numbers (Max Roser based on World Bank and Bourguignon and Morrisson (2002))The author Max Roser licensed this visualization under a CC BY-SA license. You are welcome to share but please refer to its source where you can find more information:
Website: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-population-in-extreme-poverty-absolute
Have you ever wondered why gold and silver were used as money? Why those specific metals over other commodities? This video answers these questions and outlines some of the basics of monetary economics.
This article, from the Los Angeles Times, discusses recent events in the area of state regulatory laws.
Want to get paid for shampooing someone’s hair? In California, you may need to have at least nine months of experience and pass a licensing test overseen by the state barbering and cosmetology board, whose members include salon professionals.
This website provides some broad overview of the themes and ideas of Adam Smith's most famous work.
Follow the link to read a broad outline of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations
How did the economy get started? Meet Ugg, Glugg and Tugg, three enterprising cave men who accidentally invented trade, marketing and the base elements of the modern market economy.
You'll have the opportunity to learn more about fundamental ideas such as comparative advantage, increasing returns to scale, factor endowments, and arbitrage across borders. The consequences we discuss include the effects of offshoring, how trade has shaped the economies of China, Mexico, and Korea, when foreign direct investment is desirable, and the history of free trade and tariffs, among other topics.
Five reporters stumbled on what seems like a basic question: What is money? The unsettling answer they found: Money is fiction.
Scratch almost any economist and you will find someone who is firmly committed to free trade and, most likely, someone who largely agrees with his colleagues who signed a 2006 Open Letter to President Bush and Congress organized by the Independent Institute--for whom I serve as a Senior Research Fellow--arguing that immigration, even of low-skill workers, is a net boon to the US economy.
Quick recap on the main economic justifications/reasons for countries to trade with one another for greater economic prosperity.
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190.
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate scores on 10 topics, each consisting of several indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to May 2019. Read the methodology, explaining how the ease of doing business rankings and the ease of doing business scores are calculated (PDF), or download the ranking table (PDF).
This video examines the purpose and effect of patents in the United States of America.