The Great Economic Slowdown

This book charts the fall of productivity growth and the rise of inequality within global economies and societies. Set out through a series of economic models, the impacts of falling rates of productivity growth, particularly in the USA, are examined in relation to lowering interest rates, the lifting of the stock market, and an increasingly unequal distribution of wealth. The economic impact of COVID-19, including the increased tendency to work from home and renewed public debt pressures, are contextualised within broader issues of wage suppression and discontent within the labor force to highlight how average workers have been left behind. The rise of China and the geopolitical tensions that it has created is also discussed. This book sets out the macro and microeconomic innovations that can create a revival in productivity growth in the coming years. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in global economic trends and the political economy. Edmund Phelps, the 2006 Nobel Laureate in Economics, is McVickar Professor Emeritus of Political Economy and founding Director of the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University. He is author of Rewarding Work, Mass Flourishing, and My Journeys in Economic Theory. Hian Teck Hoon is Professor of Economics at the Singapore Management University. He specialises in macroeconomics, international trade, and economic growth. Gylfi Zoega is Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland and (part-time) at Birkbeck College, London. His research is focused on saving, financial stability, and economic growth.