No one knows how to make a pencil: Globalization and interdependence

Consider the following question: If you…wanted to…go into the forest naked and create something from scratch, anything, what do you think you could pull off? The latest Freakonomics podcast points out something very unexpected; no individual knows how to create a pencil.  While it may seem unimportant that we won’t have artisanal pencils in the future, it raises some interesting questions about globalization and the interdependence that it has created in the production processes of even simple goods. We have evolved into a highly specialized and widely globalized society.  Each piece of a pencil, for example, is made in different places Continue reading No one knows how to make a pencil: Globalization and interdependence