Iceland to wean itself off of fossil fuel

Jeffrey Fisher jfisher at igc.org
Thu May 30 19:42:09 PDT 2002


exactly. how forward thinking. it boggles the mind. and to think that some whacky icelander thought of it almost 30 years ago! it must be the effects of the latitude and/or cold up there . . .

j

On Thursday, May 30, 2002, at 09:34 PM, Michael Perelman wrote:


>
> But, if Iceland were the first to choose a winning standard, it would be
> very well rewarded.
>
> On Thu, May 30, 2002 at 07:00:58PM -0400, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
>>
>> Jordan:
>> Brian Arthur (_Increasing Returns and Path Dependency_) argues
>> otherwise. In essence his argument is that the existing infrastructure
>> significantly reduces transaction costs for new ventures (be it new
>> establishments or technological innovation) - which creates "path
>> dependence" or a situation where any new addition will resemble what is
>> already in place - that holds true for geographical concentration of
>> industries (cf. Krugman), or domination of industries by certain
>> products
>> (e.g. QWERTY typewriter, VHS video recording system, or Windows
>> operating
>> system) - even though they are often technologically inferior to
>> alternatives. There is no reason to believe that gasoline powered
>> transportation will be any different. You need a *major* shock to
>> break
>> that path dependence, and I do not see one coming any time soon.
>>
>> wojtek
>>
>
> --
> Michael Perelman
> Economics Department
> California State University
> Chico, CA 95929
>
> Tel. 530-898-5321
> E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
>



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