tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11027528911364475.post8693151332511407662..comments2024-02-18T21:10:05.205-08:00Comments on EconomPic: Service vs. ManufacturingJakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07946497592651234440noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11027528911364475.post-47118834977440839622009-06-02T20:18:28.294-07:002009-06-02T20:18:28.294-07:00Thanks for the reply, Jake.
Greenspan's rece...Thanks for the reply, Jake. <br /><br />Greenspan's recent autobiography offers really good insight into the notion of a modern service-based economy. Yes we have been shifting towards it for a long time, but accelerated progress has brought some surprising changes. <br /><br />During the 90's, Greenspan was absolutely baffled by discrepancies between overall economic growth & public anxiety about the economy - both were increasing steadily. At the same time, employee turnover was quite high, but the time it took to find a new job was low. <br /><br />The tradeoff he viewed was between economic prosperity (in a service-based economy) & high employee turnover/zig zagging career paths. In this sense service jobs are much less stable than manufacturing ones, but at the same time they boost general demand for supplementary public & private services pop up to help ease the turmoil. In another sense, it's the same as it's always been, just sped up. <br /><br />Like the early growth in service-based jobs you point out, we can probably see glimpses of this public economic anxiety decades ago; but undoubtedly it has taken a new categorically different form in the past 10-20 years. And I would be very surprised if the current depression didn't catapult us forward into a more all-out service-based economy. The great depression arguably had the same effect in pushing us away from agriculture & towards manufacturing, which analagous to services in the modern economy, did quite well before the crash.<br /><br />We'll always be dependent on manufactured goods - overseas (more likely) or not - but the same applies to foreign agriculture & goods. The more that overseas manufacturing develops the better so that market forces will be able to correct for catastrophic events & other anomalies. As for what we'll actually do, well I'm sure we'll think of plenty ontop of our current services/technology. Even though a service-based economy is rockier in many aspects, demand for its output is just as tangible & real as demand for anything else in the world.kerrjachttp://cntrly.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11027528911364475.post-14830577365894956572009-06-01T11:09:13.718-07:002009-06-01T11:09:13.718-07:00And then the robots will take over the world!And then the robots will take over the world!Jakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07946497592651234440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11027528911364475.post-89427359862539244492009-06-01T09:44:44.521-07:002009-06-01T09:44:44.521-07:00"service providing jobs are inherently much more s..."service providing jobs are inherently much more stable than goods producing jobs..."<br /><br />Disagree.<br /><br />Computing power and the Internet, in all their awesomeness, will eliminate service jobs by the millions. It is like dynamite, both a jobs creator and a jobs destroyer.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05387604857883246627noreply@blogger.com