Growth: A History and a Reckoning

by Daniel Susskind

304 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2025

Reviews

[Hugo Salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo disfruté. Una historia de la idea del desarrollo económico. Desde los días en donde ni siquiera podíamos imaginar la idea de la mejora continua, pasando por la fijación con los indicadores del PIB, hasta el reconocimiento que el crecimiento económico tiene costos que hay que sopesar con sus beneficios.

Me quedo con dos ideas:
1. El desarrollo económico es importante, se correlaciona con muchas de las cosas que nos importan (e.g. mortalidad, esperanza de vida, horas trabajadas), pero no es el único indicador que nos debería importar. Deberíamos tener todo un dashboard de indicadores relevantes.
2. Hay que diseñar formas para que el trade-off entre desarrollo y otros indicadores que nos importan sea menos pronunciado.

[Michael McEwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear eyed investigation of economic growth. I found this book to be accessible, but with sufficient depth to build to the various positions taken. There are detailed sections on GDP and how growth emerged in the mid 20th century (for mostly better, but some worse). It has helped me frame some of my own thoughts on the issue and will aid in arguments with my free market absolutist friends (although I doubt they will be move).

[Ben Henschel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comes close to being a better book but benefits too much from getting to communicate/shape the perspectives it’s trying to dismantle. Straw man stuff at times. It spends more space taking aim at the worst takes on economic growth and leaves way less time to criticize the “somewhere in the middle” ones that deserve the real action. But it’s a useful survey of economic growth and when it became an important political metric (not long ago, which was a surprise to me)

[Courtney S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rigorous and thought-provoking.

[Paul Apelgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and riveting. I didn’t think I cared but Susskind is so lucid and provides such compelling history and suggestions to move forward that it’s impossible to look away