An Orgy of Innovation
- Title:
- An Orgy of Innovation
- Description:
-
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The list of famous inventions from the last few centuries is long, and you may even be making use of one right now — laptops, smartphones, tablets, and televisions, for instance. There are countless unsung improvements, too, that make our daily lives much easier. We’ve all benefited from zip top sandwich bags, twist bottle caps, and long-lasting batteries, to name a few!
The economic historian Deirdre McCloskey coined the term “innovationism" to describe the phenomenal rise in innovation over the past couple hundred years. While there have always been inventors and innovators, that number exploded after the eighteenth century, leading to what we’ve described in previous videos as the “Hockey Stick of Human Prosperity."
Why has innovation grown so rapidly? Economist Douglass North argues it has to do with institutions such as property rights, non-corrupt courts, and rule of law, which lay the foundation for innovation to take place. Others attribute the rise to factors such as education or access to reliable energy. McCloskey argues that what really kicked innovation into high gear is a change in attitude — ordinary people who once celebrated conquerers and kings began to celebrate merchants and inventors.
In this video, we discuss these ideas further. After all, a better understanding of what drives innovation could help poor countries that still live on the handle of the “Hockey Stick" reach a much greater level of prosperity.
What topic should we do next?
http://feedback.mruniversity.com/forums/256061-everyday-economics-boudreaux-on-trade-and-prospeAsk a question about the video:
http://mruniversity.com/courses/everyday-economics/hockey-stick-human-prosperity-innovation-invention-entrepreneur#QandANext video:
http://mruniversity.com/courses/everyday-economics/buy-local - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Marginal Revolution University
- Project:
- Macro
- Duration:
- 03:23
Péter Pallós edited Hungarian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation | ||
Péter Pallós edited Hungarian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation | ||
KeilaVM edited Portuguese, Brazilian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation | ||
Eduardo Lara edited Portuguese, Brazilian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation | ||
Eduardo Lara edited Portuguese, Brazilian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation | ||
Eduardo Lara edited Portuguese, Brazilian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation | ||
Eduardo Lara edited Portuguese, Brazilian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation | ||
Eduardo Lara edited Portuguese, Brazilian subtitles for An Orgy of Innovation |