In an insightful new history of US economic policymaking since 1961, Fortuna emerges as the primary narrative engine. While there has been little “progress” in figuring out how to manage modern economies in the interest of macroeconomic stability, there have been useful lessons for today’s policymakers. BERKELEY – The big lesson of the past 60 … Read more
In 1900 the world’s population numbered 1.65bn. A century later that figure had quadrupled to more than 6bn. At the same time, despite this unprecedented crowding of humanity, gross domestic product per capita rose in real terms by more than four times. That huge increase in productive potential redefined the lives of billions of people. … Read more
Brad DeLong felt confident that the story started in 1870. The polymath economist was writing a book on economic modernity—about how humans transitioned from eking out an existence on our small planet to building a kind of utopia on it—and he saw an inflection point centuries after the emergence of capitalism and decades after the … Read more