-
Stalled productivity, stagnant economy: Chronic stress amid impaired growth
April 1, 2016 Editor 0
Call it “secular stagnation,” or the disappointing “New Mediocre,” or the baffling “New Normal” – or even the back-from-the-brink “contained depression.” Whatever label you put on today’s chronic economic doldrums, it’s clear that a slow-growth stall is afflicting many nation’s economies – and, seven years into a lackluster recovery from the global financial crisis, some fragile economies seem to be lapsing into another slump.
As policymakers struggle to find a plausible prescription for jump-starting growth, a tug-of-war is under way between techno-utopians and techno-dystopians. It’s a struggle between optimists who foresee a world of abundance thanks to innovations like robot-driven industries, and pessimists who anticipate a cash-deprived world where displaced ex-workers have few or no means of earning an income.
To add a bracing dose of academic rigor to the tech-focused tug-of-war, along comes a data-focused realist who adds a welcome if sobering historical perspective to the debate. Robert J. Gordon, a macroeconomist and economic historian at Northwestern University, takes a longue durée perspective of technology’s impact on growth, wealth and incomes.
Gordon’s blunt-spoken viewpoint has caused a sensation since his newest book, “The Rise and Fall of American Growth,” was launched at this winter’s meetings of the American Economic Association. His analysis injects a new urgency into policymakers’ debates about how (or even whether) today’s growth rate can be strengthened.
When Gordon speaks at the World Bank on Thursday, March 31 – at 11 a.m. in J B1-080, as part of the Macrofiscal Seminar Series – economy-watchers can look forward to hearing some ideas that challenge the orthodoxies of recent macroeconomic thinking. His topic – “Secular Stagnation on the Supply Side: Slow Growth in U. S. Productivity and Potential Output” – seems likely to spark some new thinking among techno-utopians and techo-dystopians alike.
To watch Gordon’s speech live via Webex – at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 31 – click here. To dial in to listen to the audio, dial (in the United States and Canada) 1-650-479-3207, using the passcode 735 669 472. For those telephoning from outside the United States and Canada, the appropriate numbers can be found on this page.
Related Posts
The sustainability of Africa’s start-up culture – 6 Incubators and accelerators and what they tell us
Henry Chesbrough Named One of Top Management Thinkers
Is crowdfunding the silver bullet to expanding innovation in the developing world?
The use of benevolent leadership development to advance principles of responsible management education
On a path to accelerate access to Ebola vaccines: The WHO’s research and development efforts during the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa.
Innovation Management: A Breakthrough Approach to Organizational Excellence – Part 1
Categories: World Bank PSD
Tags: stagnant economy
Studying the successful startup of a social enterprise: a case study of Lion’s Thread Uganda Livestock and Fish sessions rethinking research pathways to rural poverty
Subscribe to our stories
Recent Posts
- SL Crowd Green Solutions September 21, 2020
- Digital transformation in the banking sector: surveys exploration and analytics August 3, 2020
- Why Let Others Disrupt You? Take the Smart Self-Disruption Journey! August 3, 2020
- 5 Tips for Crowdfunding During the Pandemic August 3, 2020
- innovation + africa; +639 new citations August 3, 2020
Categories
Archives
Popular Post-All time
- A review on biomass-based... 0.9k views
- Can blockchain disrupt ge... 683 views
- Prize-winning projects pr... 678 views
- Apply Now: $500,000 for Y... 605 views
- Test Your Value Propositi... 533 views