Tyler Cowen - The Great Stagnation book review

In a nutshell (128 pages), this is a very well thought out argument of why productivity has remained stagnate as well as thoughtful ideas and recommendations as to how to get out of it. The book is called highly controversial but I don’t think it’s written that way so much as it’s taken that way by some vocal people.

What I got out of it

At first glance, at the beginning of the book, there’s a lot of light-hearted doom and gloom. As the book progresses, however, you get a good sense of how we can, and likely will, get through what is a difficult phase. The book is geared to the United States but applies very well to every developed country.

What was difficult

Although Cowen does the reader the favour of ending on a positive ‘can-do’ note, it is not obvious where we will go from here as a society. I believe that people will by and large move in the right direction, but you see the real possibility of failure.

Recommendation

If you can hold competing ideas and judge both at the same time, you will definitely enjoy this book. If, like a high school English teacher, you judge the book by its individual chapters, you probably will struggle with the book to the point you probably shouldn’t bother with it.