50 Things That Made the Modern Economy - Public Key Cryptography

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Public Key Cryptography

Geeks versus government – the story of public key cryptography

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Battery

The story of the battery begins inside a dead murderer. It’s a tale that’s far from over

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Gramophone

"Superstar” economics – the story of how the gramophone led to a winner-take-all market

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

TV Dinner

The TV dinner, and other inventions from the same era, made a lasting economic impression

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Contraceptive Pill

The pill wasn’t just socially revolutionary, it also sparked an economic revolution

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Elevator

The safety elevator is a mass transit system that has changed the shape of our cities

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Air Conditioning

Invented for the printing industry, air conditioning now influences where and how we live

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Cuneiform

Cuneiform, the earliest known script, was used to create the world’s first accounts

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Video Games

From Spacewar to Pokemon Go, video games have shaped the modern economy in surprising ways

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property reflects an economic trade off when it comes to innovation

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Passports

If anyone could work anywhere, some economists think global economic output would double

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Tally Stick

The tally stick shows us what money really is: a kind of debt that can be traded freely

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Index Fund

Warren Buffett is one of the world’s great investors. His advice? Invest in an index fund

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Infant Formula

For many new mothers who want, or need, to get back to work, infant formula is a godsend

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Tax Havens

Gabriel Zucman invented an ingenious way to estimate how much wealth is hidden offshore

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Barbed Wire

“Lighter than air, stronger than whiskey” – barbed wire wreaked huge changes in America

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Department Store

Harry Selfridge pioneered a whole new retail experience with his London department store

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Leaded Petrol

When lead was added to petrol it made cars more powerful – but it also poisoned people

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Dynamo

The big story behind the way dynamos made electricity useful

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Limited Liability Company

How some legal creativity has created vast wealth down the centuries

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Paper Money

Currency derives value from trust in the government which issues it

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Seller Feedback

Without seller feedback, companies like eBay might not have grown as they have

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Plastic

We make so much plastic these days that it takes about eight percent of oil production

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Market Research

Market research marked a shift from a producer-led to consumer-led approach to business

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Radar

A high-tech ‘death ray’ capable of zapping sheep led to the invention of radar

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

S-Bend

The S-bend was a pipe with a curve in it, an invention that led to public sanitation

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Double-entry Bookkeeping

Renaissance man Luca Pacioli wrote the definitive book on double-entry bookkeeping

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Management Consulting

If managers often have a bad reputation, what about those who tell them how to manage?

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Searching for 51

The extra “thing” – what should it be?

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Property Register

Property rights for the world's poor could unlock trillions in ‘dead capital’

9 mins

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

Welfare State

Do welfare states boost economic growth, or stunt it? It’s not an easy question to answer

9 mins

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