# The economics of making light

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-economics-of-making-light/780186>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 18, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-economics-of-making-light/780186 "2017-02-18T22:43:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-economics-of-making-light/780186/1 "2017-02-18T22:43:43Z")

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The BBC has a [most interesting article](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38650976) 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.

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-economics-of-making-light/780186/2 "2017-02-18T23:05:36Z")

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