The economics of making light

[Quartz]

The BBC has a most interesting article on the economics of light, working from burning wood through candles to the modern LED bulb.

Back in the mid-1990s, an economist called William Nordhaus conducted a series of simple experiments with light.
First, he used a prehistoric technology: he lit a wood fire.
…
Why did he do this?
He wanted to understand the economic significance of the light bulb.
But Prof Nordhaus also wanted to illuminate a difficult issue for economists: how to keep track of inflation, the changing cost of goods and services.

[Little_Nemo]

Interesting article. I’ve seen articles that have discussed the history of artificial light in social terms but not in economic ones.