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The printing press, literacy, industrial revolution, human capital

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German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg is credited with inventing the printing press around 1436, although he was far from the first to automate the book-printing process. Woodblock printing in China dates back to the 9th century and Korean bookmakers were printing with moveable metal type a century before Gutenberg. But most historians believe Gutenberg’s adaptation, which employed a screw-type wine press to squeeze down evenly on the inked metal type, was the key to unlocking the modern age. With the newfound ability to inexpensively mass-produce books on every imaginable topic, revolutionary ideas and priceless ancient knowledge were placed in the hands of every literate European, whose numbers doubled every century. How was printing done before the invention of the printing press? Before the printing press became widespread across Europe, books were produced as manuscripts. These were hand-written books, mostly produced by scribes, monks and other church officials, and were valuable p
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The China Puzzle for the world

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China’s ambitions, China’s constraints, and how the world deals with it will determine the future of the world. China’s rise has been incredible. However, recent developments suggest that China is increasingly feeling hemmed in by Western powers. It continues to stake claim on Taiwan and has several disputes both in The South China Sea and with India along the long border. The world has been concerned about where this is going. However, there are recent developments that suggest that much of this may never actually happen. There are several reasons. China’s spectacular growth has moderated heavily during the last decade and is now showing signs of considerable slowdown. It now looks increasingly unlikely that it will ever catch up with the United States. On the contrary, the heavily indebted country may now be entering a long period of slow growth facing the headwinds from the distortions introduced during the breakneck growth phase. The demographic cliff that China is facing adds
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Can Countries overcome the Demographic Cliff

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I wrote an earlier set of blogs that looked at the demographic cliff facing many countries and the impact it is already having. Those blogs dwelt mainly on the numbers and the consequences. I came across a set of videos from a Czech researcher that delves deeper into the history and the causes of these demographic changes. These are really good videos that I felt compelled to share. This is a YouTube channel from the Czech Republic called " KaiserBauch ". This channel is pragmatic in its views and tends to look at cultural contexts of mass immigration. The first two videos I am sharing are about The United States. The videos explore the contexts of migrations from Latin America and make a great observation of how well-integrated these communities are in the country. For example, they are very well assimilated into the Armed Forces and the Police, which is quite in contrast to what has happened in Europe where immigrants from the Arab world, Africa, and elsewhere have cont
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How important is FDI for developing economies?

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Is the quantum FDI very important? Is it the cause or the effect of economic development? Intuitively we know that it is important. The question is how important. The decision to invest in a particular country depends on several factors, including political situations, economic conditions, infrastructure, business growth, etc. Governments also play a significant role in attracting  foreign investors  by offering subsidies or tax concessions. FDI allows the transfer of technology—particularly in the form of new varieties of capital inputs—that cannot be achieved through financial investments or trade in goods and services. FDI can also promote competition in the domestic input market. Recipients of FDI often gain employee training while operating the new businesses, which contributes to human capital development in the host country. Profits generated by FDI contribute to corporate tax revenues in the host country However, if we look at two comparable economies (in terms of size)
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A Road Trip in Ladakh (19th August to 28th August, 2023)

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 I had been planning a road trip in Ladakh for a few years. It got thwarted a couple of times due to unforeseen circumstances. Finally, I was able to do a trip this year from 19 th August to 27 th August. The preparation for the trip was over 3 months. Creating and refining an itinerary several times. The idea was to go to a variety of places without stretching ourselves too much physically. We had that altitude sickness is an issue. We also knew that in some areas the roads are bad and connectivity is non-existent. So, we wanted to keep a reserve day towards the end. As it turned out, we almost needed that extra day. Finally, we took off from Delhi on 19th August. Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport is one of the highest commercial airports in the world situated at 3,256 meters above sea level. The approach to the airport is spectacular from the aircraft. From the flight path, one sees an array of mountains and some of them have snow peaks. The mountains are rugged here with very
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Location: Ladakh
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