Economic Change can have Negative Side Effects

Sep 1993

In discussing economic change, I think it’s important for us to realize that change sometimes causes negative side effects.  Think about what Xerox did to carbon paper manufacturers, what IBM did to Underwood, what computers have done to typesetters, and so on.  In all these cases, and many more, change was not good for everyone (at least, not in the short run), but on balance our society was better for these changes.