The Phillips Machine

First unveiled at the London School of Economics in 1949, the Phillips machine used hydraulics to model the workings of the British economy.

One early demonstration of the machine displayed the difficulties that can arise when monetary and fiscal policy are not synchronised. Phillips asked one of his students to be chancellor of the exchequer and control taxes and spending; the other to be governor of the Bank and control interest rates. Predictably, the policies were uncoordinated and the upshot was that water overflowed on to the floor.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/08/bankofenglandgovernor.economics

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Economy
• economics
• phillips
• british
• model
• water

[douro20]

@fookthefrench

That's what an analog computer does.

[Alexeiyagdonovich]

I love how he says Keynes and Robertson wouldn't have argued if they saw Phillips' solution. What WOULD they have done?

[ironboardking]

@derfy26 That's pretty cynical to mock an innovative invention made in an era when computers pretty much didn't exist.

And it's quite arrogant to ridicule it (and it's intentions) retrospectively as futile when i doubt that you are even aware of economic laws which this machine hypothesized and demonstrated.

The Intention was to examine and understand the monetary system better which was actively revolutionary not smug, like criticism from the comfort of your armchair, 60 years later.

[fookthefrench]

@derfy26 All this machine does is numerically solve differential equations.

[fookthefrench]

@derfy26 You're right. Societies governing trends are so hard to understand that we shouldn't even try.

You make me sad.

[Leobons]

OH MY GOD!!!

I thought the guy would be treating this as a joke but he's actually taking it seriously! And so are 2 guys on the comments!!!

Human ignorance goes definitely beyond imagination!

geigy and the t00lman (appropriate name) you are completely retarded

[thet00lman]

Where is the video of it in action? Looked really interesting!

[geigy]

Excellent! This machine deserves its own web page. I for one would like to see the rest of the presentation.