R.I.P - Paul A. Samuelson

Nobel-winning economist Paul A. Samuelson dies at age 94

NPR Obituary

What the iPod tells us

Via twitter.com@delong

First, nationality matters. While the iPod is manufactured offshore and has a global roster of suppliers, the greatest benefits from this innovation go to Apple, an American company, with predominantly American employees and stockholders who reap the benefits… Apple keeps its product design, software development, product management, marketing and other high value functions in the U.S. This is not necessarily because the U.S. work force has superior capabilities in all of these areas, but because Apple has developed very specialized knowledge and ways of doing things that reside within the company and would be difficult to transfer to external locations... read more

Solar Lanterns Bring Light to Rural India

I am happy to see this step in the positive direction from an Indian company which makes solar lanterns. It's a classic example of Michael Porter's competitive advantage in his article on corporate philanthropy. I hope the guys who are able to help the rural poor in India get really rich doing it. That'll be a win-win.