Thursday
Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run Chapter 25 of 36 Production and Growth Section 5 of 23 … Explaining the large variation in living standards around the world is easy and can be summarized in one word: productivity — unit of output per unit of input. We can develop an example of productivity based on the novel Robinson Crusoe, about a sailor marooned on a desert island. Crusoe catches his own fish, grows his own vegetables and makes his own clothes. By examining Crusoe's simple economy, we learn lessons that apply to realistic, complex economies. … Productivity determines Crusoe's standard of living. Productivity is the quantity of goods produced from each unit of labor input. In Crusoe’s case the unit is simply the amount of time needed to produce something. If Crusoe is quick at catching fish, growing vegetables, and making clothes, his standard of living is high. If he is slow at these, he liv...