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Entries : Patrick Ryan (Aon Corporation) on the New Economy
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Patrick Ryan (Aon Corporation) on the New Economy

Patrick Ryan (Aon Corporation) on the New Economy

Well, I think that what has caused the change, probably is the sophistication of business, the globalization of business. Risks have become much more complex with high technology. If something blows up or burns, you know, drops through the ground from an earthquake, you've got huge investments in technology and business is interrupted, and it can have a ripple effect around the world. So the risks are just much greater. Secondly, through various forms of deregulation, the business has become much more competitive. It was, in many ways, very tightly regulated to a point that in many states everybody had to charge the same price, the same form. You couldn't differentiate your product; everybody paid the same. So it was really like a utility. Through deregulation, market forces took over and made the business much more competitive, drove prices down, which, you know, demanded efficiencies.

Ryan, Patrick. Interview with Timothy J. Gilfoyle, Loyola University, on the occasion of the 1998 Making History Awards, Chicago Historical Society.

Gilfoyle, Timothy J. “Wisconsin's Finest: Interviews with William Cronon, Abner Mivka, and Patrick Ryan.” Chicago History (Summer 1999): 54–72.