9/23/2011 Class10

The cost of sequencing a genome is falling even faster than Moore's Law could predict.
Moore's Law: computer idea that the processing speed of chips to double every 18 months, which means that our purchasing power will increase every 18 months.

We now have fewer dissent than before.The idea that we feel more violence lies in the fact that we now have more information about wars, not because more wars themselves.
What kills people the most in wars? Disease and wound and malnutrition due to starvation.
Now, with better nutrition, improved medical care, and efficient humanism effort , there is less death in wars.

Do we hurt the environment?
In poor areas, yes. But situation can be improved as long as economics and technology keep growing.
Actually, we have relatively more abundant resources than before thanks to improvement in technology, and it is also cheaper.

Do we hurt our psyche?
Research shows that increase in wealth doesn't promise increase in felicity.
But there's also a Easterlin paradox.
Suicide rate doesn't increase or decrease, but considering the fact that the improvement in technology make it less painful and cheaper to suicide, the society is still being better.

Commercial revolution: Transition from stagnation to growth.
For a long time, economic growth was extensive.(People shared)
Now we have translated economic growth to increase in living standard.

Demographic transition:
(1)Classic theory
People use existing resources to produce good and use up increased productivity with more people.It cannot explain why we are now richer.
Malthusian population theory:population growth is at geometric trend while food growth is at arithmetic growth.
Demographic transition:countries experience a change in their birth and mortality rates because of a change in the economic development.
(2)Modern theory:
Continuous growth in technology allows productivity to surpass population growth.

Why does the fertility fall?
(1)Child quantity and quality.
(2)Role of property
(3)Other factors
As productivity grows, our behavior changes and incentive to have children change.
When we are poor:
(1)Marginal child means marginal labor.
(2)When we are old, we can count on them.
When we are rich
(1)Marginal child means marginal burden.(Children don't work but consume)
(2)Problem of bequeath.
(3)We can feed ourselves when we are old.

Questions:
(1)What motivated entrepreneurs at IR period do the sorts of things to lead to IR?
(2)What enabled accumulation of capital at that time?
(3)What allowed family to actually make that child quality trade-off?