Product deflations are the opposite of upward-sloping supply curves. They are nowhere more obvious than in the market for flat-screen televisions.
Here are the equivalent buying powers for televisions over time, beginning at $300 in 2000. (Source: https://lnkd.in/gk97rVM) Processes improve, and people learn.
#supply #prices #learningcurve
If costs rise as quantities increase in mining and refining, creating what classic economists call upward-sloping curves (see the last post), how do costs behave in other industries?
Let’s look.
Solar manufacturing costs have consistently fallen over time. This phenomenon, known as Swanson’s Law, observes that “at present rates, costs go down 75% about every ten years (https://lnkd.in/gYHnMDz The consistent drop in costs reflects the learning or experience curve, which observes the amount of time people take to complete tasks falls over time. In other words, people get smarter about how to get tasks done; the more often they do those tasks. The learning curve is one of the great omissions in modern economics. Where else can we find such curves?
#prices #supply #learning #learningcurve
In every current economics textbook, authors envision upward-sloping supply curves, where suppliers’ prices go up with increasing quantities. I found an example of one here: (https://lnkd.in/ehA3aez), where the increasing costs from left to right by mine form such a curve.
Has anyone found such curves outside of mining and refining?
If so, please let me know.
Thanks,
#mining #refining #prices #supply #supplycurve
