Asymmetric Information

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The final printed edition

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The final printed edition

And why it's taken a long time for "digital" to mean "paperless"

Dave Heatley
Aug 2, 2022
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The final printed edition

nzae.substack.com

Early digital computers were a boon for paper manufacturers. The 1960s and 70s featured punched cards, paper tape, teletypes and noisy line printers, the latter chewing through small forests of continuous-feed perforated paper. The personal computer, graphical user interface, and laser printer spawned desktop publishing in the 80s, requiring yet more paper!

While predictions of a paperless office date back to 1975, the required digital infrastructure didn’t start to emerge until the mid-90s — the internet, global email, and document standards such as PDFs. And it wasn’t until the 2010s that reading devices — Kindles, iPads, LED monitors, etc. — started to offer a reasonable on-screen alternative to paper, as well as becoming ubiquitous, convenient and (relatively) inexpensive.

Worldwide paper and paperboard production grew slowly over 2014 to 2017 (+1.1% per year) then declined in 2018 and 2019 (-1.3% per year).

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So perhaps the world has finally turned the corner towards a paperless future, and one with less pressure on wild forests.

And now it’s time for the NZAE to say goodbye to paper — at least for Asymmetric Information. The final printed edition is on its way to members via snail mail. If you prefer a digital copy, then read it here.

Asymmetric Information #72
1.78MB ∙ PDF File
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This issue features:

  • contributions from past editors Nancy Devlin, Stuart Birks, John Creedy, Viv Hall, and John Yeabsley.

  • the second half of the long interview of Brian Easton by Brian

    Easton

  • Grant Scobie’s 2B RED, featuring recent books by New Zealand economist authors

  • two episodes of Paul Walker’s Blogwatch

  • Ian Duncan on the now largely forgotten New Zealand economist Dick Campbell, who in his day made an enormous contribution to a small country.

Lastly, a big thank you to John Yeabsley, AI editor from 2017 to 2022, for his long-standing contributions to AI and the NZAE. I hope to feature a longer interview with John later this year.

Thanks for reading Asymmetric Information! Subscribe for free to receive new posts.

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International Energy Agency (2021). Pulp and Paper, IEA, Paris.

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The final printed edition

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