What made it possible for the human species to conquer the world, build a global digital economy, and still want more? What drives technological progress and economic growth in the long run and on a global scale? And how will technological progress, economic growth, and the overall prosperity of human civilization unfold in the future?

This book sheds new light on these big questions by incorporating findings from physics, anthropology, psychology, history, philosophy, and computer science in a brand-new theory of economic growth. Looking back across the millennia, it identifies five major technological revolutions which have transformed humankind's capacity to process energy and informationthe cognitive, agricultural, scientific, industrial, and digital revolutionsand characterizes the new avenues of economic development which they have opened while also exponentially accelerating growth.

Sheds new light on the origins of human civilization and the key drivers of technological progress and economic growth Identifies a broad pattern of accelerating economic growth and a sequence of technological revolutions Contributes to important debates on our collective future in the digital era

Autorentext

Jakub Growiec (PhD 2007) is Full Professor and Head of Department of Quantitative Economics at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Poland. His research interests include economic growth theory, production functions, and human and social capital. He has received prizes for his outstanding scientific achievements, including the National Science Centre (NCN) award by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Inhalt
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Part I. The Drive for Development.- Chapter 2. Enter local control.- Chapter 3. The force unleashed.- Part II. The Growth Mechanism.- Chapter 4. Hardware and software.- Chapter 5. Mechanization, automation and the labor market.- Chapter 6. Scale of operations.- Part III. The Great Leaps.- Chapter 7. Accelerating growth in the past.- Chapter 8. Accelerating growth in the future.- Part IV. Lessons for the Digital Era.- Chapter 9. Side eects of growth.- Chapter 10. Challenges of the digital era.- Chapter 11. Bracing for articial general intelligence.