Economies are also subject to more fundamental, longer-term changes. In economic history, major changes in technology, population growth and economic systems have had sweeping effects on economic growth, the welfare of citizens and the birth and death of occupations and industries.
It is our task – as economists, social scientists and other scholars – to try to identify the key short-term and long-term economic changes and to weigh their consequences, benefits and risks. The policymakers´ challenge, in turn, is to make proper adjustments in their economic and other policies when old policies become outdated for the new world.