Defining domains ever more narrowly

From How Robots From The Future Will Kill Your White-Collar Job by Byrne Hobart.

Also, I finally had a chance to meet Tyler Cowen and tell him that his blog played a bit part in how I ended up dating my now-wife. Back when we were messaging on OKCupid (to clarify: my wife and I were messaging; I have not contacted Tyler Cowen on OKC), I wanted to establish my Internet-nerd bona fides, so I mentioned that I’d been linked by a prominent economics blog. She mentioned that she had been linked by a very prominent economics blog. It was Marginal Revolution, both times. (Her post: on taking oneself seriously. My post is lost to history, but I believe it was about the causes and consequences of onion futures being illegal.)

Since Cowen is an expert on many topics, it should come as no surprise that he’s an export on MR lore, so he informed me that at least one couple has gotten married on the site. One economic story you can tell about the last hundred or so years is that, as economies globalize, we compete head-to-head with more people, and need to define our domains ever more narrowly if we hope to be #1. Apparently “used Marginal Revolution to get married” was, in fact, far too broad a domain for me to have any hope of excelling.

An amusing story in its own right but that second to last line is a nice specification of a broader point.

As economies globalize, we compete head-to-head with more people, and need to define our domains ever more narrowly if we hope to be #1.

Globalization is often, and accurately, characterized as facilitating global competition. It is certainly how I casually characterize it. But Hobart is correct. It is not just a rise in competition but it is also a narrowing in the definition of the domains of competition as well. In other words, we are creating narrower and narrower fields of specialization upon which to compete.

Not just the best surgeon, but the best plastic surgeon. Not just the best plastic surgeon but the best rhinoplasty surgeon. Ad infinitum.

Globalization fosters competition. Competition fosters specialization. Specialization leads to greater productivity but it also leads to greater complexity. And greater complexity is often associated with greater uncertainty as well as greater fragility. Points that are sometimes discounted when discussing the benefits of globalization.