Abstract
What a strange expression “secular stagnation” is! It is a reaction against the naïve outlook of our Western societies, which refuse to contemplate any other scenario than the politically correct one, termed “progress”. As ever, the truth actually lies between two visions: one naïve, the other deathly. The object of the following chapter is to establish how politicians must strive for a realistic improvement in our living standards. This vast issue is affected negatively and positively by digital, environmental and demographic changes, and by breakthroughs in the fields of energy, genetics, information technology and astrophysics. These factors also lead us to reflect on possible new forms of growth.
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Appendix
Appendix
(Source OECD and the authors)
Total factor productivity, growth rates and development in base 100 from 1985: Italy
(Source OECD and the authors)
Total factor productivity, growth rates and development in base 100 from 1985: Spain
(Source OECD and the authors)
Total factor productivity, growth rates and development in base 100 from 1985: Japan
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Lorenzi, JH., Berrebi, M. (2019). A Major Stagnation, But Not a Secular One. In: Progress or Freedom. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19594-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19594-6_2
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