Epilogue

One of the questions that stuck out to me in the epilogue was "will we use the market in imaginative ways to solve social problems?" Some people might find this statement contradictory, but it actually makes a lot of sense. For example, bringing basic economic education into schools will help voters vote smarter. With a healthy economy, we will have more resources to solve social issues - both foreign and domestic. Like Wheelan said, if we "design solutions with proper incentives" then social problems can be most easily fixed.

Epilogue

One of the questions Wheelan asked was particularly interesting:
"Will we use the market in imaginative ways to solve social problems?" (pg 320)
This question deals with incentives, and trying to get them right so we can use markets to do all kinds of things. A prime example of incentives is raising gas prices to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions. As a result, less people will drive and choose other, more sustainable methods of transportation. This directly affects my life because I drive to school everyday, contributing to CO2 emissions. As gas prices continue to increase, I will no longer be able to afford the cost of gas. This is only one of the problems that relate to this question, but it makes me wonder as technology advances, in what ways will we use incentives to solve problems they cause.

Epilogue

"Economics can help us understand and improve an imperfect world. In the end, though, it is just a set of tools." At the end of his book, Wheelan essentially restates his main beliefs about economics a and how it can be helpful to us. As I read the epilogue it seemed like a summary of what I learned from reading the book. Economics is not some abstract concept taught in dry lectures, it's everywhere around us. Gaining understanding about economics gains a better understanding of the world. With economics as a set of tools we can strategize towards a brighter future, but it is important to remember that economics is ultimately a set of tools and cannot account for things like asthetics and happiness. If we could effectively use our knowledge of economics to create the right incentives, I believe the world could be a much better place. Unfortunately that's much easier said than done.

Epilogue

What frustrated me most about wheelan's discussion on the state of the economy in 2050 is that he answered questions with different questions. Is that indicative of poor condition we are in? Specifically his question "do we really have monetary fiscal policy figured out?" illuminated the fact that there is many portions of the economy we haven't figured out yet and could possibly never be
figured out. Additionally it is hard to answer any of the questions he proposed because who knows the United States might not exist in 2050. What if all this work that has compiled becomes irrelevant just as policies from a hundred years ago are irrelevant to us today?  Personally I think we should just revert to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Don't even want to think about 2050

The thought that the price of bread and our standard of living is likely to increase by 2% each year......that's a lot! I don't even want to thing about the inflation rates and the price of gas and college by then. I get the sense that economics tries to predict the future. But really, there is no way we can predict the future, they already tried saying the national debt would be paid off by, what was it, 2015? Yet we are still $17 trillion under. There is no way we can predict recessions or avoid them, we just have to deal with them. I think economics should stick to just being the solution to these issues, not the Doppler radar for the bumps in economic stability. Econ can't prevent, but it can fix. If we try to predict 2050 by using Econ, (or any other means for that matter,) we'll end up being as off as Back to the Future was about 2015.

Epilogue

The final chapter of this book left too for a lot of questions as to what economics can predict and what our economic future is like. Honestly, I am not sure. Is the debt that the US amassed too great to be able to recover? Will Africa be able to make an exciting and much needed leap into economic stability? That to me, is crazy to think about. I agree with Wheelan, that economics is the tool that can get us closer to answering some of these questions and avoiding some of the negative side affects that pose a serious threat for us, and I hope to be able to be a part of solving these questions.

Epilog

Having a government is essential to keep a country stable. The United States has an excellent government if you are looking at how well off we are. However, our government doesn't make bad things hard to do sometimes. Driving cars is the main mode of transportation and tons of Americans can easily drive cars. We need our government to step in and make changes by possibly raising the tax on gas. Our government made the right choice by trying to lure companies to make cures for rare diseases by giving the company a lot of money. This allowed companies to start finding cures for rare diseases. When our government gives people money when they recycle it helps save our planet. The governments around the world need to use their power to influence decisions people make. They need to do this for the betterment of our society and environment.

Epilogue

In the epilogue, the passage that stuck out to me the most was the portion about how economics is just a tool, and we as people must decide how to use them.  It went on further to talk about properly using the tools we are given, and the way to attain this is by having a specific goal.  Last class we talked about progress and trying to define it, and if you asked someone what that definition could be, chances are that they would respond by saying, "Progress is moving forward." But to that I would ask, moving forward toward what? Progress is such a broad term. Some people may argue that the advancements we have made in technology is not progress, but in fact, that these advancements are causing society to degress.  In order to use the tools given by economy's and utilize them to their full potential, we must have a goal, otherwise it's the equivalent and racing with no finish line, you're loving forward, but with no end in sight.

Epilogue

I really enjoyed reading this last chapter, but one of the main things that caught my eye was when Wheelan was discussing how Europe has many more benefits for the workers and people in General. This caught my eye because it seemed to me that Wheelan talked a lot about how Europe does a lot of things better then the US in a lot of the book. Although this time Wheelan criticized how there economic system isn't nearly as dynamic nor as rich as our economy. The thing that sticks out to me is that both economies have major bonuses but is/will there ever be a way we can combine both systems. In which we can keep the dynamic and entrepreneurial driven side of the US but combine it with the generous benefits and lower poverty rate, but make the negatives from each system to minimize?

Epilogue

The section about the imaginative ways to solve social problems. The part that made huge most sense for me what when Wheelan talks about the most effective way to make something work is give people a reason to work. Then later he talks about how that is common sense yet we can not figure it out. Wheelan brings up topics that we have heard about from throughout the book like the school teacher issue along with the car issue. These issues are exactly the issue with this theory. We do not reward teachers for their students test scores as we should because it would give them motive to make their students better. I like this epilogue because it talks about the future and how economics looks in the future which should be what we are planning for anyway.

Epilogue

Wheelan proposed seven questions that are worth thinking about now because they will affect the way that life is lived in 2050. The questions have to do with things from productivity, to how the people in poverty will live. The question that stuck out to me was the second to last one where Wheelan asks if the poor countries will still be poor in four decades. He contrasts this question, which has an ambiguous answer, with the fact that even though we have no cure for cancer we won't stop searching to find it. The question, he feels, needs to be broken down into smaller questions about exactly how these countries will achieve success. When this is done the answers seem simpler to answer and more possible to achieve.

Epilogue

Wheelan quotes New York Times  columnist Anthony Lewis, "Italy is evidence that there is more to life- a civilized life- than the unregulated competition of the market. There are values of humanity, culture, beauty, community that may require deviations from the cold logic of market theory." He goes on to talk about how life is about maximizing utility, not income. I liked this quote because this is a frustration of mine about the US. I think most people would agree that while our nation provides many freedoms that other people don't receive, our values are a tad out of whack. I envy how countries like Italy, for instance, show an obvious appreciation for other aspects of life besides the economy. While their economies may be less productive, it balances out with their citizens willingness to slow down. I think it's interesting that Lewis expands of life by saying "civilized life." Has modern day American living turned into something less than civil? If you think about some of the absurdities that the US indulges in, it's not so far fetched to call our society uncivilized.

Epilogue: Life in 2050

Wheelan asks the question "Will we use the market in imaginative ways to solve social problems?" Well will we? He goes on by saying,"The easiest and most effective way to get something done is to give the people involved a reason to want it done"(320). How true this is. Take airports for example: all over the place you see Smartcarts for carrying luggage. Some are sitting in corners, others are pressed up against walls, and more yet are outside in the pickup zone. Most importantly are the returns for the carts. Yes, it's true, that's where you rent them, so what? Well, what if I told you that for every cart you return, you get 25 cents. It's an ingenious way for the company to ensure their carts get returned to their vending locations - simply by rewarding people with a measly 25 cents. They get their cart, people get money. One might say that 25 cents isn't a large enough reward, but here's my solution: see the tens of carts sitting in forgotten places? Turn them in. Say there's 12 carts and you return them. What, did it take you all of five minutes? That's 3 dollars right there. May I remind you minimum wage is $7.25 an hour? You just got the equivalent of about 20 minutes of work at minimum wage - in five minutes for returning carts. Talk about an easy job! Obviously, you can't earn a living from returning carts at an airport for the rest of your life, but the next time you're in an airport near baggage claim, look around at all of the abandoned carts, and if you have time, you could earn yourself some easy pocket money and Smartcarts can get their investment back. Everyone wins. To sum this all up, just give people an incentive to get a job done - and make it one you benefit from as well. 

Chapter 12

In the beginning of this chapter, they described this machine that was capable of making the lives of everyone it touched substantially better, it almost seemed like magic.  As you read about all of the things it was capable of doing and all of the places it was able to reach, the idea sounded impossible, but then he went on the unveil this machine, and in fact, this "machine" was actually trade, and we already have it! I was more shocked then I should have been but then I began to wonder, if this concept of trade is so astonishing and it makes the lives of individuals so remarkably better, and it sets countries far further ahead then they were, then why doesn't every country take part in it? We trade in order to benefit ourselves. It's a handy tactic that just happens to benefit the person on the recieving end as well. There are so many poor countries that have so many recources that every other country wants.  But then why do they not?

Chapter 12

This chapter put me on the same page as Joelle, who made an excellent point. By now, shouldn't we have figured it out so we have a system where everyone can win? The difference in countries' wealth, etc. is so diverse it makes it hard to find that "medium" (like Joelle said). For now, I agree that trade is the best option for finding that "happy medium", however, will we ever develop a system which benefits everyone and if so, how long will that take? The factors that would have to change in order to develop a system that benefits everyone are so hard to change, it would be nearly impossible. For now, trade is the best option but I'm sure a new system will be developed in the future.

Chapter 12

My childhood best friend's dad is one of the most patriotic people I know. I've known him since I was two and he has always been very adamant about only buying (or at least making a point to try to buy) "made in America" products. So they always buy Ford cars. Then in this class we all found out that it was actually the Toyota Avalon that was the most American assembled car on the market. I was surprised. It turns out we can all be kind of ignorant on how globalization works. People can get all worked up over things that they aren't even totally aware of, for example protesting sweatshop-made products and not know that this can be really beneficial for moving countries and people out of poverty. I really enjoyed Wheelan's take on this chapter and how he made sure to highlight that sweatshops are awful places to work, but as Western people with higher standard of living it is truly incomparable because it is not worth it or efficient for us to work for $2 a day. It can give these people chances to buy mosquito nets and not starve to death. When they don't have to worry about making it to the next day and have training in some sort of field, then companies will more than likely have to turn to more machines, which lets face it is where our world is headed anyways. I understand people are losing their jobs here and that is very unfortunate, but if we can think about probable long term benefits for us, it can help the people of Bangladesh, Vietnam and more get the chance to think long term instead of day to day survival.

12

Things are finally beginning to come full circle now after reading this chapter. How us Americans can benefit from trading to developing countries, so that we can focus more on putting our special skills to jobs that will benefit us and the other developing countries were trading with. The thing that made me realize that this all comes full circle is how we Americans are almost always gonna benefit more because we have better education then more then half of the rest of the world. It will always come down to who has the better education because those people are going to have more special skills creating a better income for them, but unfortunately those developing countries aren't going to make as much of a profit because they lack skills that make more money. Also I must say that I found it really interesting that Gandhi was a bad economist and since India reversed his tactics their economy has been a success, sorry Gandhi lol.

Chapter 12: Trade and Globalization

Trade is good. Trade is efficient (when countries specialize in what they're best at - or least worst at). Wheelan summarizes the basic idea of globalization, "Productivity is what makes us rich. Specialization is what makes us productive. Trade allows us o specialize"(275). Yes, it's from end product to starting point, but he gets his point across. Without one, you could not have the others. Another point Wheelan  brings up is that countries do not trade with enemy countries. For example, we do not trade with Cuba. True, one can still purchase Cuban cigars on the black market (shame! Now that transaction will not be counted in GDP. Sigh.), but nothing is sold on the white market in the open. No Coca Cola in Cuba! Obviously the issues between Cuba and the United States are much deeper than "I don't like you, so I'm not gonna share me toys with you" (or in this case, goods and/or services), but it does not change the fact that trade does not occur between the two countries. Cutting off trade with another country is supposed to cause it to go into an economic slide or recession. While the economy is not the best *cough cough* in either country, both still benefit from trade with other various countries. Allies are good to have if a country is not able to produce all necessary goods and services. In other words, can you imagine waking up every morning hoping that your chicken laid your breakfast? How fun would that be?

Ch. 12.

Its upsetting that there isn't a system where everyone can win. Trade is obviously the best option but if there was a perfect, happy medium in between protectionism and trade it could be really awesome. Of course, this concept connects perfectly with the bare bones of Economics: opportunity cost. Which way can we best spike the economy, keep the most jobs and allow the most trade. I agree that, because there isn't a happy medium, that trade does the best job of accomplishing economic growth and stimulus.

CH. 12

Trade makes us richer. Every country will benefit from trading something that they specialize in. A country should figure out what they can create for the least amount on money and then use that to trade for better things. Americans do not create their own things because it can be done over seas for less money. This may mean that some Americans lose their jobs to foreign competition, but then the people in America won't be wasting their time on that. They can create something even bigger and better. Like the engineers in Seattle who build airplanes. They do this because people in Bangladesh can create the sweaters and these airplane engineers don't have to. This is somewhat of a cruel way to look at all of this, but that is what happens. For countries and companies to make the most money this is the most logical way to do so. Even if it does not seem right.