WSJ: Why the Economy Doesn't Roar Anymore

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-...

http://www.basicbooks.com/full-details?isbn=9780465061983

http://www.marclevinson.net

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.