Economic

Conventional models in aerodynamics suggest that a bumblebee cannot possibly fly. It wings are just too small to lift its big body. But of course it does fly and has done so for at least 30 million years. This used to be known as the Bumblebee Paradox. A closer look tells us that bees use a technique called "separated flows" that creates very strong lift. This paradox has also been applied to the economy of the Soviet Union. Given all we know about incentives and information, and how economies work, a centrally planned and managed economy should not be able to function and survive. Yet somehow, the Soviet Union survived for almost 70 years. North Korea's economy has similarly been bumbling along for more than 70 years. How is this possible? What is it about these economies that enabled them to fly, so to speak, and what brought the Soviet Union to ground