The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War
Robert J. Gordon
(Author)
Description
How America's high standard of living came to be and why future growth is under threat
In the century after the Civil War, an economic revolution improved the American standard of living in ways previously unimaginable. Electric lighting, indoor plumbing, motor vehicles, air travel, and television transformed households and workplaces. But has that era of unprecedented growth come to an end? Weaving together a vivid narrative, historical anecdotes, and economic analysis, The Rise and Fall of American Growth challenges the view that economic growth will continue unabated, and demonstrates that the life-altering scale of innovations between 1870 and 1970 cannot be repeated. Gordon contends that the nation's productivity growth will be further held back by the headwinds of rising inequality, stagnating education, an aging population, and the rising debt of college students and the federal government, and that we must find new solutions. A critical voice in the most pressing debates of our time, The Rise and Fall of American Growth is at once a tribute to a century of radical change and a harbinger of tougher times to come.Product Details
Price
$50.40
Publisher
Princeton University Press
Publish Date
January 12, 2016
Pages
784
Dimensions
6.3 X 9.4 X 2.2 inches | 3.15 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780691147727
BISAC Categories:
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Become an affiliateAbout the Author
Robert J. Gordon is professor in social sciences at Northwestern University. His books include Productivity Growth, Inflation, and Unemployment and Macroeconomics. Gordon was included in the 2016 Bloomberg list of the nation's most influential thinkers.
Reviews
"[The Rise and Fall of American Growth] is this year's equivalent to Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century an essential read for all economists, who are unanimously floored by its boldness and scope even if they don't agree with its conclusions."---Adam Davidson, New York Times Magazine
"Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is an extraordinary work of economic scholarship. . . . Moreover, this is one of the rare economics books that is on the one hand deeply analytical . . . And on the other a pleasure to read. . . . [A] landmark work."---Lawrence Summers, Prospect
"Robert Gordon's The Rise and Fall of American Growth is an extraordinary work of economic scholarship. . . . Moreover, this is one of the rare economics books that is on the one hand deeply analytical . . . And on the other a pleasure to read. . . . [A] landmark work."---Lawrence Summers, Prospect