Title: The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better
Author: Tyler Cowen
Genre: Economics
Pages (words): 128 (N/A)
Readability: N/A
Rating (out of 5 stars): ***1/2
Reviewed by: Ben
Description: Cowen lays out an argument that the United States is in the middle of an economic stagnation, one that began in the early 1970s. His main argument rests on the idea that for the first 200 years of the history of the U.S., we had a lot of low-hanging fruit that made our economy grow steadily and rapidly. Then, about forty years ago, that low-hanging fruit ran out. He then goes over the implications of this for how we should expect the future to pan out.
Thoughts: I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I read Tyler Cowen's blog, Marginal Revolution, pretty regularly, so I had heard the basics of his arguments before reading the book (an extended essay, really). But it was really nice to hear the whole thing put together in one solid framework, rather than in bits and pieces like you get it on the blog. The book is somewhat economics-y, so it might not make a ton of sense if you haven't had at least an Econ 101 class, but I would definitely recommend it if you're interested in macroeconomics, innovation, or business at all. I'm fairly convinced by most of his arguments. Also, Cowen's a good writer who doesn't take extreme positions in order to make a point, and I can really appreciate that.
Disclaimer: None.
