Building Taller Ladders

• Author: Joel Mokyr
• Pages: 32-35

Technology and science reinforce each other

to take the global economy ever higher

Joel Mokyr

32 FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT | June 2018

In recent years, many economists have questioned

the ability of technological progre ss to keep pro-

pelling the economy forward despite decli ning

population growth and rising dependency ratios

(Gordon 2 016). According to those in this ca mp, the

low-hanging fruit have mostly been picked, and

further advances will become increa singly dicult

(Bloom and others 2017).

Others would counter that science a llows us to build

taller and ta ller ladders to reach ever-higher-hanging

fruit. Based on rapidly improving scienti c insights,

technological breakt hroughs still h ave the potential

to change life in the foreseeable future as much as

they did in the centur y and a half since the US Civil

War, proponents of this view contend.

Why is it plausible that scientic progress wi ll continue

to advance? Technological progress does not just aec t

productivity direct ly; it also pulls itsel f up by the boot-

straps by giving science more powerfu l tool s to work

BUILDING

TALLER

LADDERS