Mobinomics

Mobinomics is a recently coined term which refers to the influence of ubiquitous mobility on traditional economics.

Economics is known as the science of the laws governing the relationships between men in society, especially where it relates to the creation and distribution of wealth. On a philosophical level, it is argued that the desire for happiness that is the ultimate cause of all human activity. And us humans also requires the opportunity to express our talents - and this expression of talents (work) produces wealth. And since in nature, no two things are precisely the same, men, in cooperation with others in society are able to express this diversity in the occupations they engage in, resulting in a glorious variety of produce.^[1]

The emergence of mobility is being driven by two complementary forces:

• New telecommunication and information technologies - Today we have a global digital infrastructure in the form of a global mobile broadband network carrying converged voice, data and video. The ideal vision of telecommunications espoused by Colin Cherry in 1958, is that "the ultimate purpose of the telecommunication network is to change the geometry of the world” ^[2]. Looking into the future, new energy systems and virtual mobility concepts are likely to offer the possibility to appear anywhere you want to be, regardless of whether you are projected in real life or travel in virtual parallel worlds. ^[3] Today, not only is it changing the geometry of the world - it also changing the geometry of economics.

• Increasing levels of freedom allowed by growing acceptance of the ideas of democracy, human rights and self discovery. According to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, “We are in the age of mobility where people will move across borders in ever-greater numbers. In their pursuit of opportunity and a better life, they have the potential to chip away at the vast inequalities that characterize our time — and accelerate progress throughout the developing world." ^[4]

Two examples of how the above forces are influencing traditional economics is:

• Work now gets done where it can be done most effectively & efficiently ^[5]
• Developing countries gross domestic product are positively impacted by the availability of mobile telephony networks.^[6]

The transformational power of the above forces on human societies and economies does not map into any established traditional academic discipline.

Notes

1. ^ Makewell, Raymond (2001), Economic Wisdom - Economic references from Scriptural, Philosophical and Classical Sources 
2. ^ Cherry, Colin (1958), "The conceivable future of telecommunications", Institute of Electrical Engineers, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=098-ccherry&cid=11-9#11-9, retrieved 2009-06-18 
3. ^ Baken; van Boven; Menert; Hekmat (2006), "Virtual Mobility Enabling Multidimensional Life" (PDF), Tijdschrift- Nerg (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands) 70 (3): 86–95, http://www.nas.its.tudelft.nl/people/Edgar/fitce%20paper%20virtual%20mobility_pr2.pdf, retrieved 2009-05-12 
4. ^ Ki-Moon, Ban (23 April 2007). Going Global for Good. Washington Times. http://www.globalpolicy.org/secgen/ban/2007/0423tradetalks.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-15. 
5. ^ Friedman, Thomas, The World Is Flat, pp. 21 
6. ^ Enriquez, Luis; Schmitgen, Stefan; Sun, George (February 2007), "The true value of mobile phones to developing markets" (PDF), The McKinsey Quarterly, http://www.cids.ie/Documents/Globalization_Mobile%20Phones.pdf, retrieved 2009-05-14