Wednesday , November 6 2024
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Links: dowries are paid in cash. And disruptive technology.

Summary:
Very cool webpage which maps CO2 content of electricity in different European countries in real time (i.e.: German content drops when sun start to shine in Germany), as well as international flows. Blackest country: Poland. Greenest: Norway (hydro), France (nuclear). I’ve been tweeting a bit with global warming deniers. They are soooooo conservative, at least when it comes to their (lack of) believe in the power of technology. The transition is taking place already. Here, a real life zero emission truck (hydrogen + electricity) which is cheaper, faster and stronger than a diesel truck. Costs of solar and wind continue to plunge. Wind power was so abundant in Germany with Christmas that electricity was free. Decentralised storage has great potential. They don’t want to know. Is reality starting to look more like neoclassical models? On websites like ‘mechanical Turk’ a total flexible load of work, subdivided in mini tasks, is performed by a total flexible, anonymous labour force. One of these ‘Turkers’ posted the next question on reddit (in Canada, Turkers are paid in amazon gift cards: “Hey guys, Canadian turker here and I just got my first 10 days and now able to take out my earnings ().

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  1. Very cool webpage which maps CO2 content of electricity in different European countries in real time (i.e.: German content drops when sun start to shine in Germany), as well as international flows. Blackest country: Poland. Greenest: Norway (hydro), France (nuclear).
  2. I’ve been tweeting a bit with global warming deniers. They are soooooo conservative, at least when it comes to their (lack of) believe in the power of technology. The transition is taking place already. Here, a real life zero emission truck (hydrogen + electricity) which is cheaper, faster and stronger than a diesel truck. Costs of solar and wind continue to plunge. Wind power was so abundant in Germany with Christmas that electricity was free. Decentralised storage has great potential. They don’t want to know.
  3. Is reality starting to look more like neoclassical models? On websites like ‘mechanical Turk’ a total flexible load of work, subdivided in mini tasks, is performed by a total flexible, anonymous labour force. One of these ‘Turkers’ posted the next question on reddit (in Canada, Turkers are paid in amazon gift cards: “Hey guys, Canadian turker here and I just got my first 10 days and now able to take out my earnings ($20). What gift card would be the best to sell in /r/giftcardexchange to get the lowest loss? Also do you guys have any better idea to cash it out with minimal loss aside from gift cards? Thanks! Side question: Does netflix gift card bought in US can be used in canada?”
  4. Demonitisation in India is a disaster, according to this article (based upon careful investigation). Another view however states, invoking Minsky, that credit can cushion the epic liquidity crunch. Recent economic historical findings however indicate that an economy should be seen as a whole bunch of markets and other transactions systems which are interconnected but which also often use their own specialized kind of money and payment system which can’t easily be replaced by other systems. When one carefully reads the positive article this seems to be the case in India, too.

Credit is money. That is why companies don’t need to carry cash everywhere for purchases. Most purchases happen in the form of credit settled through a business process. Even you can buy whatever you can in cash or credit (e.g., credit card, your khata at the kirana store or a village vendor extending credit).

This total money is not assumed to be neutral, as by traditional economists, but has a direct impact on prices and economic production. More new credit generated leads to more demand for goods in the economy and more economic growth and employment — a well-established fact.

But what has this endogenous money/credit got to do with demonetisation? Actually, everything.

Credit is financial money that differentiates black economy from a white/cash white economy. Black economies have very low credit. When was the last time you paid bribe in credit? Or paid dowry in credit? Or bought drugs on credit? You may have bought some regular ration on and off on credit, though.

Hmmm… Agree, but only up to a pont. In the Indian village economy, there is a reason why people hoard cash. It’s wealth. In old Europe, where lots of the economy were almost entirely credit based, it did matter if you were wealthy (as exemplified by your ownership of land, or all kind of gold, silver or pewter objects). Taking away this wealth will create epic economic havoc. The first article states: ‘Another fruit seller mentioned that he had been hit by 17 cancellations of marriage orders in a single month’. This is really the kind of naive shock economics which has disrupted too many lives already. An epic mistake (even though I detest dowries).

Merijn T. Knibbe
Economic historian, statistician, outdoor guide (coastal mudflats), father, teacher, blogger. Likes De Kift and El Greco. Favorite epoch 1890-1930.

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