, Columnist
Innovation Won't Overcome Stagnation
Policy makers think technology will save them. It’s an illusion.
Not exactly a revolution.
Photographer: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu AgencyThis article is for subscribers only.
Innovation, everybody hopes, will rescue the world from economic stagnation. I’m not so sure.
The extent to which an innovation is significant depends on the degree to which it alters existing activity or the performance of a function. It must create related and ancillary activities that in turn lead to employment, wealth and other discoveries in a virtuous cycle. It must have longevity, being capable of exploitation over long periods. These characteristics are why the Second Industrial Revolution (electricity, internal-combustion engines, modern communications, entertainment, hydro-carbons and so on) succeeded in lifting productivity and living standards.