Things That Made the Modern Economy

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Inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world

Tim Harford introduces inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world

Things That Made the Modern Economy: Series 2: Pencil

Pencil

Series 2

BBC Radio 4 - Things That Made the Modern Economy, Series 2, Pencil

The pencil claims to be a miracle product of the free market, but is that true?

The pencil claims to be a miracle product of the free market, but is that true? Why do engineers, as well as economists, think the pencil is underrated?

“I, Pencil, simple though I appear to be, merit your wonder and awe, a claim I shall attempt to prove.”
So declares the slim, graphite-spined narrator of one of the most famous essays in economic history, “I, Pencil”. The pencil claims to be a miracle product of the free market – but is that true? Why, asks Tim Harford, do engineers, as well as economists like himself, think the pencil is so underrated? And how on earth do pencil-makers get the lead inside the wood?

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editor: Richard Vadon

Things That Made the Modern Economy: Series 2

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More inventions, ideas and innovations that helped to create the modern economic world.

More inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world.

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