The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War

Robert J. Gordon

Princeton University Press, Jan 12, 2016 - Business & Economics - 784 pages

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.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - gregdehler - LibraryThing

Wow. This is an amazing work! Don't let anyone tell you that economics cannot be interesting. I especially recommend it to my historian friends who want economical-social survey from the end of the ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - LynnB - LibraryThing

An interesting, well-written book. The author was able to really bring to life the different time periods he discusses. But, it could have been so much shorter -- lots of repetition. Robert Gordon ...

About 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.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War; The Princeton Economic History of the Western World
• Author: Robert J. Gordon
• Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2016
• ISBN: 1400873304, 9781400873302
• Length: 784 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Development / Economic Development; Business & Economics / Economic Conditions; Business & Economics / Economic History; Business & Economics / Economics / General; Business & Economics / General