he world as we know it turn out very differently We are forced to admit that the world as we know it is the result of a long string of chance outcomes [cited in Lewis 2000, 252].The author says that this explanation is why economists have difficulty explaining the economy, and deciding how it is going to behave, and whether or not there is a "new economy". So he begins with an almost apologetic approach, but then goes on to explain how we may be able to take what we know about the past and apply this knowledge to both the present and the future. He goes on to agree with an article put out in 1965 by Time magazine that claimed economists at that time "confess[ed] rather cheerily that they have just about reached outer limits of economic knowledge." This statement was made because there was continued expansion, low unemployment for an extended period of time. Economic models and theories could not explain this phenomenon in 1965, although there have been improvements since then. The author argues that we are once more at a point that significant changes in economic theory must take place to explain the changes in the economy due to technology. This type of discussion is important because economics is a study of peoples behavior. If faster communication and new technology changes peoples behavior, thus changing the economy, an accurate economic model should be found, or at least sought for. While there are many current economic models, none of them accurately, at least in the authors view, can explain or predict peoples behavior when it comes to a new technology.This discussion is interesting to me personally because I see the way that technology, especially the Internet, is affecting peoples behavior and peoples productivity. The ease of how all these Internet startups are creating overnight millions is astounding. The economy for a long time has been expanding consistently and quickly. (Apparently a little too quick for the fed, as chan...
