Vox:
Ideas aren't running out, but they are getting more expensive to find
20 September 2017
Article by Nicholas Bloom, Charles I. Jones, John Van Reenen and Michael Webb: The rate of productivity growth in advanced economies has been falling. Optimists hope for a fourth industrial revolution, while pessimists lament that most potential productivity growth has already occurred. This column argues that data on the research effort across all industries shows the costs of extracting ideas have increased sharply over time. This suggests that unless research inputs are continuously raised, economic growth will continue to slow in advanced nations.