QWERTY Principle

QWERTY principle in Global Commerce Policy

In this regard, qwerty principle is: not an accepted trade policy concept, but illustrative of the dangers of accepting uncritically established ideas. The entries on trade policy are here. It was first proposed by the economic historian Paul Davis in 1982 and popularized greatly in the 1990s by Paul Krugman. The principle takes its starting point from the QWERTY layout of computer keyboards which dates back to the earliest manual typewriters. The latter apparently were likely to jam when the typing was too quick, and the QWERTY layout forced the typist to slow down (note that there is argument whether this is really true). Later mechanical improvements made the QWERTY layout unnecessary, but inertial thinking ensured its survival into the computer age, because it had become “locked in”. More recently, the validity of the assertion that the QWERTY layout is an inferior solution has been questioned, and it may indeed be no more than a myth. Be that as it may, Krugman notes that the emergence of the QWERTY layout leads one to reject the idea that markets invariably lead the economy to a unique best solution, and that in fact the outcome of market competition often depends crucially on historical accident. The principle also stands for the idea that investigating the validity of long-held beliefs and practices is intrinsically worthwhile. See also conventional wisdom and vestigial thought.[1]

QWERTY principlein the wold Encyclopedia

For an introductory overview on international trade policy, see this entry.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Dictionary of Trade Policy, “QWERTY principle” entry (OAS)

See Also