Case Study You need to listen to the Planet Money podcast titled The History of Light and respond to the following question. The word counts are intended as guidelines, you are welcome to use more words but if you use fewer you risk not answering the questions in sufficient detail to receive full credit. 1. It's difficult to talk about the long run impact of growth over generations (and indeed civilizations) because it is difficult to compare prices across that much time. What is the measure that Professor Nordhaus used to overcome this difficulty? (100 words) 2. We cannot dispute the importance of the light bulb that Edison invented, but one point raised in this podcast is that it takes a whole financial and economic infrastructure to implement such a bold and radical change. With that in mind, explain the statement that finance built the power plant that made electric lights possible. (150 words) 3. This story is just one example of how things get more efficient and less expensive over time. In this section I want you to pick a technology and profile its evolution over the years (e.g. power, communication, travel). Explain how innovations in this technology have benefited society and helped us make use of our scarce resources. (250 words)

NPR - The History of Light

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/04/25/306862378/episode-534-the-history-of-light