Way It Worked and Why It Won't, The: Structural Change and the Slowdown of U.S. Economic Growth [Hardcover]

Gordon C. Bjork (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0275965317 | ISBN-13: 978-0275965310

While the decline of U.S. economic growth has been widely recognized and debated by professional economists, no one has until now offered a comprehensive description and explanation. Professor Bjork does so, and he explains the growth slowdown as a natural consequence of economic maturity.

In addition, Bjork explains how productivity growth occurs within industries and the economy as a whole and how accounting conventions fail to account for growth in expanding sectors of the economy such as services and government. He quantifies the effects of structural change in slowing the rate of growth, and he demonstrates why taxes and transfer payments for the education of the young and the maintenance and health care of the retired population necessarily increase with economic growth and maturity. This is an important synthesis for professional economists and policy makers as well as students and the concerned public.

Editorial Reviews

Review

.,."The Way It Worked and Why It Won't: Structural Change and the Slowdown of U.S. Economic Growth raises some issues of fundamental importance to understanding the future of the American economy. I think that Professor Bjork lays them out well and has a suggestive set of answers to a complicated and controversial set of questions. All in all a very worthwhile study."-Douglass C. North Olin Professor in Arts and Sciences Washington University Nobel Laureate in Economics, 1993

Book Description

Explains the slowdown of U.S. growth as a natural consequence of economic maturity.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (October 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275965317
• ISBN-13: 978-0275965310
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,459,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adam Smith for the 21st century, June 21, 2000

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a reader (St. Paul, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way It Worked and Why It Won't: Structural Change and the Slowdown of U.S. Economic Growth (Paperback)

Unlike most contemporary economists, Bjork does not present a theory and then attempt to find evidence that supports it. Rather he has examined and presented historical data which show the inevitability of economic slowdown all on thier own. His clear analysis is easy to read and comprehend. The implications of this book, both implicit and explicit, cross the lines of economics, public policy, and philosophy. This is an important book to everyone in the younger generation.