r/Economics•
[deleted]

Under the assumption that graphene becomes a widely used commercial material in the next decade or so, what kind of implications can we expect in the world's economic growth?

I'm currently enrolled in a class where we examine technological innovation as the driving factor for economic growth; in other words, examining what kind of actions drive total factor productivity. My professor argues that technological innovation (taking a non-Luddite approach) is essentially what drives the expansion of our production possibilities, especially in combination with the innovation of institutions that mediate economic exchange (courts, patent systems, cultural environments, etc).

It's something that's been fascinating me, especially when reading about graphene as some sort of a miracle substance that can be used for everything and anything. Provided that we can increase the scale of production, it seems to be a cheap, multi-purpose crafting block that may easily affect our daily lives. I've looked for some economic journal articles on the subject, but haven't really found any; they're mostly periodicals talking about advances being made within graphene.

So, if what I've been reading has been accurate, and we are expecting to see graphene in commercial production within say, the next decade (as some sources report), what kind of implications does this hold in the world economy, and would it necessarily instigate change within institutions?

Any sort of response, even general economic speculation, would be deeply appreciated! I think it's something with potentially far-reaching consequences that really has the capacity to introduce the world to a new period of unprecedented economic prosperity... What does r/economics think? Am I totally misguided?

Posted Mar 24, 2012, 9:38 PM UTC

10
Loading comments…