| badgenome said: I don't buy it. Baumol's famous line about the string quartet, while certainly pithy, is a great example of just how wrong he was. Once upon a time, a string quartet would play and only those in attendance would ever hear it. Now, thanks to recording technology, everyone who is alive or who will ever be alive can hear that one single performance. The productivity of musicians has therefore risen dramatically, and there's no reason that the same can't happen in medicine or education if the system is free enough to permit such changes to take place. |
I am currently reading the book, "The Cost Disease" where Baumol goes into greater detail, and can post more once done. One could argue that the cost disease angle doesn't account for possible blue ocean alternatives that meet the demands of the market, but come from other sectors. That is valid. The point, I believe, is that, with the case of string quartets or live theater, the demand for the consumption of one time produced services that can't be automated, is going to rise. One can speak to listening to string quartet music, but that is different than seeing a live performance of one.
