Planned Obsolescence as an Engine of Technological Progress

Arthur Fishman, Neil Gandal and Oz Shy

No 275512, Foerder Institute for Economic Research Working Papers from Tel-Aviv University > Foerder Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: Critics of capitalism contend that many products are designed to have uneconomically short lives, with the intention of forcing consumers to repurchase too frequently. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as "planned obsolescence." In this paper, we show that planned obsolescence may be a necessary condition for the achievement of technological progress and that a pattern of rapidly deteriorating products and fast innovation may be preferred to long-lasting products and slow innovation.

Keywords: Financial; Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22
Date: 1991-09
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https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/275512/files/TEL-AVIV-FSWP-181.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Planned Obsolescence as an Engine of Technological Progress (1993)
Working Paper: Planned Obsolescence as an Engine of Technological Progress (1991)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:isfiwp:275512

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.275512

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