High Gas Prices To Help The Tech Industry?
from the all-depends dept
We've already talked about how high gas prices may be pushing more people to shop online and to telecommute, but what about its overall impact on the tech industry? Some are saying that it's actually going to be a huge boost. There are a few reasons for this. First, the tech industry doesn't rely on oil/gas nearly as much as many other industries. That's not to say there isn't some reliance on it, but it's not as important. Second, as mentioned above, it could push for more telecommuting and online shopping, both of which can help tech companies. In general, technology can often be used in ways that help people avoid traveling -- and if gas prices make people not want to travel, that can clearly be a boost. Of course, thinking even farther out, high gas prices could help the tech industry by generating more interest in alternative engine technology as well.
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Does it?
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Gas Prices matter more in America
The "pump price" for American gasoline is less, but this advantage is more-than cancelled out because average American citizens buy five times as much fuel as average Europeans.
1) European cars are 50% more efficient than American equivalents,
2) few Europeans drive SUVs and a lot of them drive diesel, and
3) many European cities are more compact
Gas prices too high? Try Europe.
If you wonder why some Europeans criticize America for being wasteful, read the article.
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Re: Gas Prices matter more in America
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EU tech sucks?
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No Subject Given
Of course, the market will still bear these rising prices so probably nothing will happen. Most people who drive already are just willing to suck it up, maybe because there are still very few decent public transportation systems in America.
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Re: No Subject Given
Back in the 1990s, oil prices seemed to be locked in a downward spiral, and everyone talked about a future in which oil prices would keep going down indefinitely. Today, everyone is talking about a future in which oil prices would go up forever. I see Techdirt is not above this sort of armchair economist hype.
There was a lot of speculation in the '90s that Central Asian oil would create a global glut. Political instability and geographical remoteness made oil companies back out of the project, but they may go at it again now.
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Re: EU tech sucks?
SAP, Skype, SQL are others...
And what about biotech (Sweden)?
The four biggest firms are there: Novartis, Roche, Syngeta, and Lonza. Plus another 200 innovative, up and coming dedicated biotechnology firms (DBF's).
Europe is advancing rapidly too in terms of innovation and new firm development.
I don't think there is a correlation between fuel prices and innovation.
I believe the best thing that can happen to the country right now is to see increasingly high gas prices. While this will push the US into a recession (not good for tech) it may increase public pressure on the government to increase the amount of R & D for alternative energy research (good for tech). (I am certain there is a breakthrough innovation -- a really disruptive technology -- out there waiting to be created -- but first we need lotsa research and lotsa research funding). This will lead to alternative energy innovations, and help move the country away from a reliance on oil.
Then we can curtail this current upward trend of trading blood for oil. It will only get worse if we don't -- despite the rhetoric, the troops are not going anywhere and look for more and more of our young men and women to be sent to the middle east to shed their blood so we can drive our SUV's. Unfortunately America's political structure and system is too short-sighted and motivated for the short-term to change it otherwise. But in this case, technology is politics.
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Re: EU tech sucks?
Do-gooder suburbanites can attach stupid solar panels to their roofs and call themselves saviours of the Earth, tinkerers can build their corn cob-powered cars that produce 100 times the air pollution and call themselves "green", college kids can break windows in retail districts and call themselves heroes.
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Re: Does it?
And, whenever there's a recession, usually spurred by energy costs, the tech sector is almost always hit hardest.
I think if we look longer-term, however, technology does help eliminate some of the reliance on energy and helps to boost the economy out of recession.
So, it's a bit of a "both-and," but I mostly agree with the poster.
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Gas is not best
Thank you Professor Ray
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