Growing Prosperity: The Battle for Growth with Equity in the Twenty-First Century

The sudden drop in America's productivity rate beginning in the early 1970s and the simultaneous increase in income inequality made a generation of American economists pessimistic about the nation's ability to grow faster or to deal with the growing gap between the rich and everyone else. Barry Bluestone and Bennett Harrison review the historical record and offer an elegant explanation of why the productivity drought occurred and why it is finally over. The potential for a sustained era of economic expansion more equitably shared is on the horizon, thanks to the revolution in computer and information technology that has now come of age.But potential, the authors argue, is one thing; realization is another. Though optimistic about the productivity boom, Bluestone and Harrison do not believe that the payoff to the technology revolution can be fully realized without a sea change in economic policy. Their discerning analysis reveals that the current obsession with federal debt reduction and inflation control -- the very essence of what they call the Wall Street model -- will in fact sabotage growth. Only by embracing a Main Street model that revitalizes government-sponsored R&D, public infrastructure, education, and training -- all of which have helped underwrite spectacular economic growth spurts in the past -- can America reach its potential for equitable expansion in the coming century. Flying in the face of the ruling economic orthodoxy, GROWING PROSPERITY is a beautifully argued work that goes beyond critique to envision a way to add $3.2 trillion to the economy over the coming decade. With its provocative thesis and its clear prescriptive message, it will be of great interest to everyone with a stake in our economic future.

Review :
"I believe that Growing Prosperity could well be as important in shaping our future as Keynes' General Theory. This is a remark sure to attract scoffers by the thousands, eager to find fatal flaws in this program for a twenty-first-century economy that combines growth with equity, to steal the book's subtitle. I am happy, however, to put my reputation at risk to attract as many readers as possible to a work as meticulous as it is powerful, as promising as it is persuasive." -- Robert Heilbroner, economist and author of The Worldly Philosophers "Bluestone and Harrison have alerted us to the key issue confronting America: how to achieve growth with equity. This country needs a powerful dialogue on how to continue growth while deepening its benefits to all Americans. This is the blueprint for the terms of that debate." -- U.S. Representative Richard Gephardt, House Democratic leader "Here's a compelling case that we can grow faster and do better -- prerequisites to a more just society. Buy one copy for yourself and send another to your favorite member of the Federal Reserve Board." -- Robert B. Reich, University Professor and Maurice Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy, Brandeis University "The argument is fascinating and forceful. Bluestone and Harrison's last book may well be their most important." -- Richard Nelson, Columbia University economist "Bluestone and Harrison argue persuasively that we can maintain economic growth while reducing economic inequality. What a wonderful message for those who care about America's working families -- and America's future. This compelling, optimistic book deserves a very wide audience." -- Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, author of World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economy "Barry Bluestone and the late Bennett Harrison make a persuasive case for pro-active government in creating sustainable economic growth -- and growth at a rate that can reverse our recen