Why Our Knowledge Economy Can Survive the New Age of Pestilence

Knowledge, once acquired, cannot easily be reversed. In theory, of course, knowledge can be lost when everyone who possesses it dies and there are no stored-up copies in books or models. If important knowledge is sufficiently diffused and accessible, however, it becomes increasingly unlikely that an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMIT Sloan management review Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 22 - 24
Main Author Mokyr, Joel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 01.10.2020
Subjects
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Economic growth
Economic impact
Knowledge
Knowledge economy
Pandemics
Prosperity
United States > US
Europe
Germany
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Summary:Knowledge, once acquired, cannot easily be reversed. In theory, of course, knowledge can be lost when everyone who possesses it dies and there are no stored-up copies in books or models. If important knowledge is sufficiently diffused and accessible, however, it becomes increasingly unlikely that any invention will ever be "lost." Hence, although wars and natural catastrophes can disrupt markets, commercial life, and the international economy, they rarely cause much erosion of the knowledge base that made an economy prosperous and productive in the first place. Market economies and the international division of labor, once disrupted, can be repaired fairly quickly and economies can bounce back--if the suitable institutions such as law and order, peace, and effective contract enforcement are in place.
ISSN:1532-9194