
WSJ: Why the Economy Doesn't Roar Anymore - jazzyk
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-economy-doesnt-roar-anymore-1476458742
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dredmorbius
The article is a preview of Marc Levinson's upcoming book, _An Extraordinary
Time_ , which looks at the post-World War II economic boom as a one-time
historical event. It reminds me strongly of several of the themes of Robert J.
Gordon's _The Rise and Fall of American Growth_ , released earlier this year,
though that book covers a much larger time period: 1870 - 2015.

Various reviews suggest Levinson does address a few topics I've found poorly
treated in the past -- the obsession of the US Federal Reserve over inflation
in the late 1970s, and a general lack of understanding of both economists and
politicians at the time (see Kirkus Reviews). At the same time, I suspect that
as with Gordon, I'll find Levinson's book missing crucial elements.

Bio: _Marc Levinson is the former finance and economics editor at the
Economist and the author of five books, including The Box: How the Shipping
Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger. He lives in
Washington, DC._

[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marc-
levinson/an-...](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marc-levinson/an-
extraordinary-time/)

[http://www.basicbooks.com/full-
details?isbn=9780465061983](http://www.basicbooks.com/full-
details?isbn=9780465061983)

[http://www.marclevinson.net](http://www.marclevinson.net)

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bediger4000
I see no mention of a couple of super-obvious factors. First, the USA has let
monopolies back in. During the immediate postwar period, there were tons of
regional companies in just about every market. Now, there's a few national or
multi-national. Almost complete lack of competition results. Second, the rise
of "permission culture" and the idea of "intellectual property". Just going
ahead and doing it versus looking around to ensure that you're not infringing
is costly in time and money, especially when you have run everything past a
legal department.

