Friday, October 28, 2022

Economics Art

I was researching the European Stability Mechanism this morning for a paper on the evolution of the euro, and I ran across this gem of economics art on the ESM webpage.  


Put on your mechanical engineer hat for a moment. This is a set of gears that literally cannot turn. To say nothing of the wisdom of putting belts on gears. Perhaps this is a subtle cry for help? 

(The ESM is sort of europe's internal IMF that can lend money to strapped governments with conditions.) 
  

13 comments:

  1. Which is, of course, an even more complex example of the classic "parents, teachers, students working together" gear poster: https://starecat.com/education-works-best-when-all-the-parts-are-working-teachers-students-parents-graph-poster-cogs-fail/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL yeah might overlook an economist not understanding simple gears, but on an education poster - front and center - and only three gears - still a fail.

      Delete
    2. What I get from the organisationally complex set of intermeshed gears is great difficulty at communication, making decisions and accountability -- all attributes of bureaucrazy's...

      Delete
  2. Love the blog and it is a must read for me.

    However you can 100% put toothed belts on gears. Heck, IIRC, the vast majority of Harley bikes are belt drive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had the same response... For the same reason. This is the first time I could poke a hole at a Grumpy observation!

      Delete
    2. Well, yes, but then you would have a toothed belt, not a flat belt. : )

      Delete
    3. If one looks carefully one sees that if the Board of Governors is turning clockwise, it is twirling both the Managing Director and the Board of Directors counterclockwise, but the Board of Directors is then pushing the Managing Director clockwise. No woik.

      Delete
  3. 'Love the idea that you saw these gears could not turn - says a lot...

    ReplyDelete
  4. See what you get when you let artists figure things out? All imagination, no reality. There you go, Neil Young. Oh - and there you go, all you poets writing about climate change in the editorial pages.

    Many years ago, in an interview with Amoco, the interviewer asked me: is geology an art or a science? My response was that science is the highest form of art: while artists are free to indulge whatever fancy they like, scientists must create within the narrow boundaries of reality.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That one made me laugh, that's funny. Even looking past the interlocking gears I'm wondering how a traditional org chart could look. How do all those committee's make decisions?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I prefer my interactive graphics 😎

    https://modeloseconomicos.w3spaces.com/index.html

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome. Keep it short, polite, and on topic.

Thanks to a few abusers I am now moderating comments. I welcome thoughtful disagreement. I will block comments with insulting or abusive language. I'm also blocking totally inane comments. Try to make some sense. I am much more likely to allow critical comments if you have the honesty and courage to use your real name.