Economic Environments of the West

Economic Environments of the West
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Economic Environments of the West
Background
According to the article, the west's economic environment and technological changes have resulted in significant changes around the world. The article acknowledges the role of technology in the modern economy and how it has led to the rise of the 4th industrial revolution. The article argues that after every sixty years or so, a wave in technology arises, leading to significant economic transformations and blazing new economic frontiers. The 4th industrial revolution is usually a result of the convergence of the physical and digital world (Moavenzadeh, 20165). These changed how most things were traditionally done, requiring people to rethink the idea of work, prosperity, and productivity. However, the fourth industrialization comes at a cost as the economy has to bear significant challenges.
Issue
As seen from the above introduction, the 4th industrial revolution has led to a rise in the use of technology. However, this has also created a significant issue in the economy: has technological advancement only had a negative impact on the West economy?
Analysis
Based on the information from the article provided, it is evident that technological advancement has, in a significant way, affected the Western economy both positively and negatively. For one, it is evident that the introduction and use of technology have helped to improve production and the economy by enhancing the production rate of goods and services. Secondly, the Internet of Things (ToT) has significantly digitized the physical world by tracking data feeds among the sensors loaded in billions of objects. In addition, the ToT would also enhance synthesizing ingenious materials and redesign production, which would, in turn, lead to improved productivity as well as maximize resource efficiencies. Thirdly, technology also meant that factories did not necessarily need to be big to achieve efficient production. However, the use of technology led to huge losses for the environment.
According to the article, the increased unemployment rate is one of the challenges affecting the Western economy. The use of technology led to significant...