Authors libby rittenberg 93

the quantity and quality of the economy’s factors of production and its technology are unchanged Changing these will shift the curve Anything that increases the quantity or quality of the factors of production available to the economy or that improves the technology available to the economy contributes to economic growth Consider, for example, the dramatic gains in human capital that have occurred in the United States since the beginning of the past century In 1900, about 3.5% of U.S workers had completed a high school education By 2006, that percentage rose almost to 92 Fewer than 1% of the workers in 1900 had graduated from college; as late as 1940 only 3.5% had graduated from college By 2006, nearly 32% had graduated from college In addition to being better educated, today’s workers have received more and better training on the job They bring far more economically useful knowledge and skills to their work than did workers a century ago Moreover, the technological changes that have occurred within the past 100 years have greatly reduced the time and effort required to produce most goods and services Automated production has become commonplace Innovations in transportation (automobiles, trucks, and airplanes) have made the movement of goods and people cheaper and faster A dizzying array of new materials is available for manufacturing And the development of modern information technology—including computers, software, and communications equipment—that seemed to proceed at breathtaking pace especially during the final years of the last century and continuing to the present has transformed the way we live and work Attributed to Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books/ Saylor.org 93