Diversification of Albertas Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversification of Albertas Economy - Essay Example Diversification as a concept has a special effect on Alberta’s economy, which is reliant on non renewable resources as its economic bedrock. It is vital that Alberta’s government develop policies that will aim to diversify the province’s economy, and make it wealthier. By relying on non renewable resource-based industries, Alberta’s economy becomes vulnerable to economic cycles of boom and depression This paper will aim to provide ideas on policies that the government can implement for its economy to minimize the probability of failure and maximize the probability of success.Policies Active and proactive government intervention through policy formulation, it is possible to diversify Alberta’s economy. Government can intervene in such aspects as labor, trade, capital, and financial markets to create a diversified economy base for the province. The government’s involvement in the economy is also vital to diversify the economy. Increased governm ent involvement and investment in the Alberta economy is vital for diversification to occur. Increased government involvement ensures that infrastructure gets created to prepare the economy for diversification Alberta is a landlocked province, and it is vital that infrastructure such as transport get created to facilitate business creation. Infrastructure such as communication, health services, and electronics are crucial towards encouraging economic activity. Engagement of the government in the economy allows for massive generation of revenues that facilitate infrastructure construction. Government becomes involved through investments in private businesses and leading corporations in the province. Government should aim to offer venture capital for business start ups within the province both directly and indirectly. Government assistance should also get directed at the existing sectors, which have shown strength in the Alberta economy. The government should create an enabling climat e for investment through tax policy formulations. For there to be diversified economy in the province, the government should apply grants, subsidies, and tax incentives to generate varied economic activity (Mathias, 1971). The government can direct these financial tools towards economic sectors, which are under invested. These tools are crucial to develop the emerging industries within the province. This will invite on board investors who are motivated to take advantage of such government incentives. These tools also ensure that the cost of production for the investors lowers down encouraging them even more to partake in economic activity within the province. To develop a diversified economy, the government should also revise its education policy to gear it towards labor specialization. The governments should enable a shift from the province’s general education curriculum to a job-directed education curriculum. The creation of specialized labor or skills within the Alberta ec onomy would help generate economic activity (Mathias, 1971). A diversified labor market promises labor to investors. It assures investors to proceed with their investment plans within the province as their labor requirement is available. The government in Alberta should offer this policy formulation to the universities and technical institutes in its region to encourage the specialization of labor skills. The Alberta government should also reduce over reliance on the economic importance of the unprocessed raw resources sector (Mathias, 1971). The government should encourage

Disappearing Technology of the Twentieth Century Essay

Disappearing Technology of the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Steam locomotive being the most influential example of steam engine technology, its disappearance from the modern railroad deserves to be reflected on. According to Lindqvist, the general perception about history of technology holds that â€Å"the initial stages of growth and development of new technologies are far more interesting than the boring routine maintenance and depressing dismantling of older technological systems.†1 However, research on older technological systems helps us not only to analyse the dynamics of industrial demands but also to understand the contemporary political and social values. Moreover, economic analysis of the decline of a technological system may have extremely useful implications for the future technologies. This paper is divided into four major parts: Introduction, Literature Review, Analysis and Conclusion. Reputable scholarly resources and contemporary literature of twentieth century have been used for research and reflection on the topic. Ca ses of USA and UK have been discussed with special emphasis. Research Question: Give an account of a disappearing technology of the twentieth century. Why has its use decreased? Literature Review The steam engines have been part of a gigantic technological system which dominated the world almost throughout the twentieth century. ... acilitated political organisation, industrial production and transportation, Theoretical Perspective: Innovation can be regarded as the driving force of technological development which is designed to meet the socio-economic demands of the populace. So, too much emphasis on the developmental phase of a technological system may appear to be natural; but this is not a wise option always.2 â€Å"We know, for example, more about the first automobiles and the infancy of the automobile industry than we know about the dominating transportation technologies at the same period.†3 But the importance of an older technological system lies in the fact that it may not be necessarily abandoned at the introduction of a new system. Although cases of exponential decline of a technology are known, older and modern technologies do exist in our world side by side. Illustrating the American charcoal industry, Schallenberg has put forward that evolution, adaptation and survival are the key phases in the life cycle of a technology which may eventually culminate at a slow or exponential decline.4 In the case of steam engine technology, the pace of phasing out the steam locomotives has been fast in some countries (e.g., Britain, USA, etc.) and slow in some other countries (e.g. India, China, etc.). The extent of once powerful steam engine technology has been truly international and impressive. Evolution of Steam Locomotives: Steam locomotive capable of passenger conveyance was invented by the British engineer George Stephenson in 1825. Hence UK can be regarded as the first country in the world that developed its steam powered railway system. In USA, steam locomotive was first operated in the year 1829. Subsequently, locomotive manufacturing industry started off in the country. In the 1830s and