The Power of Creative Destruction: Economic Upheaval and the Wealth of Nations

by Philippe Aghion, Céline Antonin, Simon Bunel

Hayek Book Prize Finalist
An Economist Best Book of the Year
A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year
A Financial Times Summer Reading Favorite

“Sweeping, authoritative and―for the times―strikingly upbeat…The overall argument is compelling and…it carries a trace of Schumpeterian subversion.”
― The Economist

“[An] important book…Lucid, empirically grounded, wide-ranging, and well-argued.”
―Martin Wolf, Financial Times

“Offers…much needed insight into the sources of economic growth and the kinds of policies that will promote it…All in Washington would do well to read this volume carefully.”
―Milton Ezrati, Forbes

Inequality is on the rise, growth stagnant, the environment in crisis. Covid seems to have exposed every crack in the system. We hear calls for radical change, but the answer is not to junk our economic system but to create a better form of capitalism.

An ambitious reappraisal of the foundations of economic success that shows a fair and prosperous future is ours to make, The Power of Creative Destruction draws on cutting-edge theory and hard evidence to examine today’s most fundamental economic what powers growth, competition, globalization, and middle-income traps; the roots of inequality and climate change; the impact of technology; and how to recover from economic shocks. We owe our modern standard of living to innovations enabled by free-market capitalism, it argues, but we also need state intervention―with checks and balances―to foster economic creativity, manage social disruption, and ensure that yesterday’s superstar innovators don’t pull the ladder up after them.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Business, Politics, History, Finance, Sociology

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

He is Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics at Harvard University, Professor of Economics at London School of Economics, and an invited professor at the Paris School of Economics, having previously been Professor at University College London, an Official Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, and an Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Reviews

[Laurent Franckx · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was Marx who first understood capitalism as a process of "creative destruction", but it is largely thanks to Schumpeter that the term has become a standard way of referring to the process where innovation in capitalist societies leads to the replacement of old industries and ways of doing things by new, better ones.
Philippe Aghion has gained his reputation as one of the most important economists of his generation thanks to his contributions to the fields of innovation and growth. One would thus expect a lot from a book on this topic coming from his hand, especially as the book cover promises that the analysis will be based on cutting edge insights.
The problem is that, in practice, "cutting edge" means that the book is mostly based on papers written by Professor Aghion himself, or by people he has collaborated closely with in the past.
Of course, given the contributions that Aghion has made to the field, it is not surprising that his work should play a prominent role in this book. However, this leads to strong biases, not just in the topics that are discussed, but also in the way that they are tackled.
I found this the most obvious in the chapter on innovation and the environment. Aghion largely reduces environmental innovation to product innovation, and barely discusses process innovation. Moreover, his discussion of product innovation is limited to one product, namely passenger cars, and only takes the perspective of the climate impact of cars, without discussing local pollutants - not completely surprising, this is the one topic where Aghion himself has contributed to the literature. But, as it happens, I have myself written a review paper on innovation in the automobile sector a few years ago, and I can be clear that this paper is far from the most important in the field.
By focusing so much on his own work, Aghion takes a very narrow perspective on the topics he discusses, and the final result is a big disappointment. It's not that the book is not interesting, or that you learn nothing if you read it. It's just that it would be more honest to advertise it as it is: as a book where Aghion takes stock of his own place within the field.

[Armen Grigoryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

«The Power of Creative Destruction» գիրքը տնտեսագիտության ոլորտում իսկապես արժեքավոր հայտնագործություն է։ Հեղինակներն անհավանական ճշգրտությամբ ու հասանելի լեզվով բացատրում են, թե ինչպես է նորարարությունն առաջ մղում տնտեսական զարգացումը, ինչպես են ստեղծվում նոր արդյունաբերություններ, և ինչու է տնտեսական առաջընթացը հնարավոր միայն այն դեպքում, երբ հասարակությունը չի վախենում փոփոխություններից։

Գիրքը հիանալի կերպով միավորում է Ադամ Սմիթի «Ազգերի հարստություն» աշխատության գաղափարները, Շումպետերի ստեղծարար «ոչնչացման» տեսությունն ու Աճեմօղլուի ինստիտուցիոնալ մոտեցումները՝ ընդգծելով, որ մրցակցությունն այն մղիչ ուժն է, որը ստեղծում է նորարարություն, իսկ նորարարությունն էլ իր հերթին՝ առաջընթաց։ Հեղինակները հստակ թվերով ու փաստերով ցույց են տալիս, թե ինչպես է նորարությունը մի կողմից փակել հին աշխատատեղերը, բայց մյուս կողմից ստեղծել նոր հնարավորություններ և գերազանցող աճի նոր տեմպեր։

Գրքի հիմնական ուղերձն այն է, որ տնտեսական առաջընթացն ու նորարարությունը միևնույն շղթայի փոխկապված օղակներ են․ նորարարությունը փոխում է աշխատաշուկայի կառուցվածքը, բայց միևնույն ժամանակ հասարակություններին տանում դեպի ավելի մեծ արդյունավետության, ստեղծարարության և բարեկեցության։

Հեղինակները նաև ընդգծում են նորարության համար անհրաժեշտ միջավայրի կարևորությունը։ Ժողովրդավարությունը, ուժեղ ինստիտուտները, քաղաքացիական հասարակության ակտիվությունը, իրավակարգի կայունությունը և հեղինակային իրավունքների պաշտպանությունը հանդես են գալիս որպես այն հիմնասյուները, որոնք թույլ են տալիս տնտեսություններին չվախենալ փոփոխություններից և ստեղծում են անհրաժեշտ ազատությունը՝ ստեղծարար «ոչնչացման» համար։

Այս գիրքը հատկապես արժեքավոր է յուրաքանչյուրի համար, ով հետաքրքրված է տնտեսական քաղաքականությամբ, նորարարությամբ և այն հարցերով, թե ինչպես են պետությունները հարստանում՝ ճիշտ որոշումների, տեխնոլոգիական առաջընթացի և փոփոխություններին բաց լինելու շնորհիվ։

[Elena Calistru · Rating 4 out of 5]

O carte foarte bună despre cum găsim un just echilibru între protecționism, libertate economică, inovație. Sunt folosite o sumedenie de cercetări și date excelente, totul pornind de la paradigma lui Schumpeter de "creative distruction".

[Benji · Rating 4 out of 5]

'On the whole, creative destruction does not necessarily entail worse health or less happiness; everything depends on the institutional environment. To win support and avoid a drift toward populism, safety nets are imperative to accompany creative destruction. The first such safety net, as we have seen with the 2020 pandemic, is high-quality health care accessible to all. The second safety net is a system of minimum income to eliminate poverty traps. The third safety net is a system of flexicurity that gives innovative firms the necessary flexibility to hire and terminate employees but also provides individuals with security in their professional paths. This security depends on the combination of generous unemployment insurance and effective lifelong professional training to enable people to find new employment more easily. This is where the state has a role to play as an insurer against the risks associated with creative destruction and job loss, and as an investor in education and innovation.'

'The market, the state, and civil society form a critical triad for the proper functioning of an economy of innovation and creative destruction. The market provides incentives to innovate and constitutes the framework in which innovative firms compete. The state is there to protect property rights on innovations, to enforce contracts, and to act as an investor and insurer. Finally, civil society - the media, labor unions, nonprofits - generate or call for the enforcement of constitutional provisions intended to check executive power and ensure greater efficiency, ethics, and justice in the operation of the market.'

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors make a compelling case for rejecting the old dichotomy between pro-growth ‘small government’ policies and inefficient welfare state approaches, arguing that a robust state that finances innovation, education, and social insurance, and coordinates investments can expect to promote long-term growth and innovation.

[Sergio Redondo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado. Multitud de datos para entender qué impulsa el crecimiento económico y con propuestas para hacerlo más justo. Indispensable.

[Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phillippe Aghion y sus coautores hacen un repaso muy completo sobre las principales teorías que explican el crecimiento económico, usa casos históricos como los de las revoluciones industriales o algunas programas educativos en Francia o en Japón para ilustrar que factores abren las puertas del crecimiento económico al facilitar la innovación y con ella la destrucción creativa.

Es un libro que de principio a fin hace homenaje a Schumpeter y su idea de la destrucción creativa y que busca reconciliar muchos problemas de nuestro tiempo por ejemplo, la desigualdad, con los efectos de este proceso de crecimiento. Es un muy buen libro, aunque al final se vuelve quizá demasiado general y realmente no ofrece soluciones nuevas. No obstante, la primera mitad del libro es donde se encuentra su aportación más valiosa.

[Matty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ouvrage de recherche complet sur l'innovation, complaisant avec le modèle capitaliste.

Je retiend les botions de "Dépendance au sentier"
Effet de taille de marché , pour décrire l'arrivée dans un pays plus grand, un marché plus grand qui devient accessible
Malthus illustré dans le bourgeois gentilhomme
Schumpeter, chaque inventeur se tient sur les épaules des géants qui l'ont précédé

[Anna Shulman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cutthroat vs cuddly capitalism, innovation, and the welfare state. Interesting points about government's roles to not only protect citizens from worst manifestations of capitalism, but, at the same time, to provide protective foundation and incentives to build up innovative endeavors and support creative destruction, which is nothing more than competitive innovation.

[Paul Sand · Rating 1 out of 5]

[Imported automatically from my blog. Some formatting there may not have translated here.]

This book was one of the nominees for the 2022 Hayek Book Prize, so I thought I'd give it an Interlibrary Loan try. It came up I-95 from UMass Dartmouth, and… well, it's one of those "wish I'd liked it better" books.

It purports to be an economic policy guidebook about the future of capitalism. It adopts Schumpeter's terminology of "creative destruction", the displacement of old technologies and employment by innovation. That can (and does) lead to greater overall prosperity for the participants; it arguably is tough on the businesses and people who were making a decent living until those dang new-fangled ways of doing things caused all the upheaval.

The authors argue for a highly-regulated capitalism to deal with problems like climate change, inequality, and unforeseen catastrophes (like Covid). They highly recommend a strong safety net for innovation-displaced workers (dubbed "flexicurity" after the Danish policies they really like).

So, basically, an argument for Elizabeth Warren-style stakeholder capitalism. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't find much to disagree with here. I, on the other hand, am surprised about the Hayek Book Prize nomination. (Hayek does show up, but not until page 294 or so, where his insights into governance are discussed.)

Some random thoughts:

A back cover blurb from Joel Mokyr compliments the book's "accessible prose". Which is nice, and sort of accurate: there are no particularly advanced concepts here. (Unless you consider graphs to be advanced. Lots of those.) But accessible prose can also be pretty boring, and that's the case here. The authors make Hayek look like Lee Child in comparison. (I wonder if the original French version was livelier and the translator squeezed all that out?)

I was puzzled by notable absences. An early chapter discusses economic "takeoffs": the causes of phenomenal increases in general prosperity around the world. Missing entirely from that discussion: Deirdre McCloskey. Maybe the authors disagree with McCloskey's explanation of what she calls the "Great Enrichment". Fine, but let's have that discussion instead of ignoring her theories. Equally ignored is the less-capitalist economist Mariana Mazzucato, who's written well-known takes on entrepreneurship and innovation. Basically, it seems the authors are reluctant to deal with counter-narratives.

The concept of "path dependence" is central to a lot of the book's argument. Understandably; when people are wedded to an inferior technology it can slow or prevent better ones from being adopted. Unfortunately, their Exhibit A for path dependence (they deem it a "glaring example") is a hoary one: the QWERTY keyboard saddling us with inefficient typing when the Dvorak layout is obviously superior. I find a Reason article from 1996(!) by Stan J. Liebowitz and Stephen Margolis to offer a serious and plausible rebuttal to that myth: Typing Errors. (They also discuss why the myth is so seductive to free-market haters.)

The authors take as a given that "inequality" is bad. The (to my mind sensible) view is that it's OK if it drives overall prosperity. Poverty is the actual problem, and the superior way to deal with that is…?

The authors have a yen for statist interventions. As far as USA stuff goes: they like DARPA, and that's a pretty plausible example. But they ignore (say) the Export-Import Bank and other corrupt boondoggles wasting taxpayer money on the politically well-connected.

The authors are also full-fledged climate hysterics. More nuanced views of the Lomborg/Koonin stripes are, yup, ignored. But "climate change" is yet another excuse for them to recommend (yup) increased government spending on R&D, mandates, subsidies, regulations, etc.

[Muhammad Syazwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book brilliantly dissects, chapter by chapter, the concept of creative destruction and its connection to multiple macroeconomic theories and paradigms. The narratives are well thought-out and supported with sometimes crude sense of honesty but most of the times test cases from other academic studies, data and research. Plenty of graphs for reference and if I have to pick a point to settle with, it is somewhere between economic textbook and pop-economic books. I wish the future of capitalism was given a more emphasis (i.e. chapters).

[Hamidreza Aziminia · Rating 3 out of 5]

فیلیپ آگیون از معروف‌ترین محققین اقتصاد رشد است که رشد مبتنی تخریب خلاق در سالیان اخیر پروژه‌ی فکری اصلی او بوده و در جای‌جای کتاب به پژوهش‌های پیشین خود ارجاع می‌دهد. کتاب به شواهد بسیار جذابی اشاره دارد که نویسندگان با بیانی غیرفنی ولی دقیق به تبیین آن می‌پردازند؛ از این رو کتاب یک متن بسیار خوب برای آشنایی نگاه علم اقتصاد به دنیای پیرامون است. هرچند به نظر من به قوت کتاب‌های شاهکار این عرصه مانند "چرا کشورها شکست می‌خورند؟" و "اقتصاد فقیر" نبود. اگر با ناآشنایی مخاطب عمومی با برخی اصطلاحات فنی اقتصاد رشد همچون همگرایی و مدل نئوکلاسیک کنار بیاییم؛ کتاب می‌تواند برای مخاطب تحصیل‌کرده عمومی نیز قابل توصیه باشد. اگر نویسندگان برخی موضوعات را بهتر باز می‌کردند و به افزایش حجم کتاب راضی می‌شدند؛ موضوع کتاب و شواهد آن ظرفیت تبدیل کتاب به یک شاهکار همچون "چرا کشورها شکست می‌خورند؟" و "اقتصاد فقیر" را داشت.
نویسندگان مدل رشد مبتنی بر تخریب خلاق را پارادایمی جدید در مقابل مدل نئوکلاسیک قلمداد می‌کنند. به‌نظر من مدل‌های رشد درون‌زا (که تخریب خلاق نیز بخشی از این خانواده است) مکمل مدل‌های نئوکلاسیک رشد هستند. در مدل نئوکلاسیک وضعیت پایدار (steady state) اقتصاد توسط بهره‌وری تعیین می‌شود. هرچه فاصله‌ی اقتصاد از از وضعیت پایدار بیشتر باشد؛ عایدی سرمایه‌گذاری در آن اقتصاد بالاتر است و اقتصاد به مرور زمان از طریق سازوکار انباشت سرمایه به وضعیت پایدار می‌رسد. معمای مدل‌های رشد نئوکلاسیک چگونگی تعیین بهره‌وری بود. اگر با برون‌زا بودن بهره‎وری در این دسته از مدل‌ها کنار بیاییم؛ مدل رشد نئوکلاسیک قادر به توضیح بسیاری از شواهد رشد اقتصادی است. هنر مدل‌های رشد درورن‌زا حل این معما و تبیین چگونگی رشد دائمی بهره‌وری است؛ وگرنه همچنان سازوکار انباشت سرمایه در این مدل‌ها نیز حضور دارند. به دیگر بیان شاید بتوان گفت تمام سازوکارهایی که نویسندگان به عنوان مزیت مدل رشد مبتنی تخریب خلاق ارائه می‌دهند؛ تبیین سازوکارهای مدل رشد نئوکلاسیک است. از این رو به‌نظر من مدل رشد مبتنی بر تخریب خلاق بیش از اینکه پارادایمی در مقابل رشد نئوکلاسیک باشند؛ مکمل و حالت تکامل‌یافته‌ی این خانواده از مدل‌ها هستند.
برخی از شواهد تجربی ارائه‌شده در کتاب، از اتقان کافی برای اقناع خواننده برخوردار نیست. تمام شواهد تجربی را می‌توان در طیفی قرار داد که یک سر آن علیت و سر دیگر همبستگی است. برخی شواهد کتاب بسیار نزدیک به همبستگی بود. به عنوان مثال در فصل 7 نویسندگان نشان می‌دهند که در هند بنگاه‌های با بهره‌وری پایین زیادی وجود دارند و این امر را ناشی از بزرگ‌نشدن بنگاه‌های با بهره‌وری بالا قلمداد می‌کنند. در حالی مسیر علیت در اینجا می‌تواند کاملا برعکس باشد و بزرگ‌نشدن بنگاه با بهره‌وری بالا ناشی از نابود نشدن بنگاه با بهره‌وری پایین باشد. مثال دیگر در فصل 6 که نویسندگان افزایش "تعداد" نیروی متخصص و ثابت ماندن "نرخ رشد" بهره‌وری را به مثابه‌ی معمایی قابل تامل مطرح می‌کنند! درحالی مقایسه‌ی تعداد و نرخ رشد نادرست است. در عالم نظریه "سطح" نیروی متخصص و بهره‌وری متناسب اند و شواهد نشان می‌دهد هر دو با نرخ متناسبی رشد می‌کنند. از این رو اصلا معمایی وجود ندارد.
در برخی فصول نویسندگان از موضوع تخریب خلاق خارج شده‌اند یا اینکه موضوع را به‌خوبی نتوانسته‌اند به تخریب خلاق وصل کنند. این امر در فصول آخر تشدید می‌شود. به عنوان مثال هرجا سخن از نابرابری ناشی از نوآوری و تخریب خلاق گفته شده، نویسندگان با ارجاع به نقش بیمه‌گری دولت، بحث را خاتمه‌ داده‌اند. در حالی که امکان ایجاد همزمان محیطی آزاد در نوآوری (مانند آمریکا) و محیطی که دولت به شدت به نقش‌های رفاهی بپردازد (همچون اسکاندیناوی) بدیهی نیست. یکی از مهم‌ترین شواهد ارائه‌شده در کتاب اختلاف فاحش آمریکا و اروپا در نوآوری است. نویسندگان نه‌تنها در تبیین چرایی این امر موفق نیستند؛ بلکه با عبور از این حقیقت، ادعا می‌کنند که می‌توان به نسخه‌ای از سرمایه‌داری رسید که جامع نکات مثبت آمریکا و اروپای اسکاندیناوی باشد.

[Christian Singer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book heavy on statistical evidence and references to scientific literature. If you're looking for pointers to more empirical research on the phenomenon of creative destruction, this book is also a good pick. If you're totally averse to math and statistics, this book is probably not a good fit for you.

The core thesis of this book is that in the long run, in which we are all dead anyway, economic growth is limited by the acquisition and diffusion of new knowledge, and both are contingent on the right incentives and protection of certain rights of property that accrue to the inventors. Creative destruction, then, is the process of new ideas making old ideas obsolete by solving the same use cases but better. Think electricity replacing steam. The authors measure it, for instance, via the number of patents registered.

The book shows how creative destruction relates to indicators such as inequality, well-being, and economic development. It also dives into how creative destruction can be fostered and regulated. In the spirit of the woke & climate-conscious first part of this decade, they dedicate an entire chapter to how policymakers could nudge the innovation process in a more green direction and put heavy emphasis on the "inclusivity" of growth. They describe the central theme of the book in chapter 1:

The power of creative destruction and how the transformation of capitalism can direct this power ­toward achieving more sustainable and inclusive prosperity.

I think that while their factual conclusions are all grounded on solid evidence, their moral premises lead them to objectionable conclusions, such that it is somehow wrong for developed countries to attract too much talent from poor nations, as these people are supposed to benefit their home country first. This implies that underdeveloped countries have some claim of ownership over their inhabitants, which, along with other statist lines of reasoning in the book, shows that the authors still think more about people in terms of collectives than as individuals.

I would've given one more star if the book had stuck more toward explaining the process of creative destruction itself and dabbled less in policy recommendations that, while still fairly liberal in economic terms, are still too conciliatory to statism for my taste.

[Joris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply researched economics book on the topic of creative destruction: how creative innovation drives economic growth while it destroys the structures (companies, jobs, ways of doing things) established by older innovations. The book touches on the policies needed to foster this engine of growth (public investment in R&D, limiting the political lobby of established industries, strong patent protections, limits on taxation) and to alleviate its negative effects (income security, job flexibility).

The book also suggests that to address difficult problems such as climate change (where laissez-faire capitalism has failed), you need all of 1) State, 2) Market and 3) Civil society. The state needs to set the right incentives (e.g. carbon tax) and invest in early R&D, the market needs to build and finance solutions, and society (consumers, press, non-profits) needs to push the market by making conscious moral decisions (e.g. buying sustainable products).

The book often compares the US to Europe (in addition to comparing various countries within Europe) for its data, research and arguments, with the US having a stronger system for innovation but weaker social protections than Europe and vice versa, suggesting that a more healthy mix of both is possible.

While the topics can be a bit dry and I didn't learn anything brand new, the book lays out a clear and well-argued view of how to structure our economies for growth, sustainable development and human well-being -- important things to get right.

[Avil Ramírez Mayorga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirados en el paradigma de Joseph Schumpeter y bajo el contexto de un mundo post-covid19, los autores realizan un esfuerzo considerable para argumentar que estos tiempos constituyen una gran oportunidad para revigorizar al libre mercado mediante lo que Schumpeter dio por denominar "destrucción creativa", que no es otra cosa que el florecimiento de nuevas tecnologías que sustituyan a las anteriores en atención a la efectividad de la misma (por ejemplo Kodak que perdió su mercado de manos de los celulares o ahorita con la migración hacia la electromovilidad). En tal sentido, los autores -apoyados en harta estadística- sustentan porqué se requiere de un ecosistema para que prospere la destrucción creativa, destacando el rol que puede jugar un Estado en el fomento de la competitividad e innovación, así como garantizando la seguridad jurídica en cuanto al derecho de propiedad, lo que ayudará a generar los incentivos para que florezca la innovación. Y también destaca elementos colaterales tales como los límites al "leviatán" del Estado, el rol de los académicos y R&D, el financiamiento, subsidios e incentivos fiscales, el lado oscuro de la destrucción creativa (y como mitigarlo, con el gran ejemplo de la flexiseguridad danesa), entre otros elementos.

Una gran obra de los autores que debería ser leída por cada tomador de decisión, particularmente por aquellos que en puestos de decisión en la Administración Pública están en la posición de estimular (o ahuyentar) la innovación y el desarrollo.

[Richard Marney · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than just a candidate for best economics book for 2021, this work could well find a place on books shelves as a mainstay reference tome on the subject of innovation, creative destruction and growth.

The author's stated purpose is three-fold: (i) penetrate some of the great historical enigmas associated with the process of growth; (ii) revisit the great debates over innovation and growth in developed nations; and (iii) rethink the role of the state and civil society. He seeks a new paradigm to explain major economic and growth trends and to address enigmas of growth and the wealth of nations.

An important take away, especially in these fraught times for democracy and competitive markets is the compelling connection between equality of access to education, innovation, growth and social welfare supported by democratic institutions and free markets.

[Anusha Datar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This economics book explores questions around the ways that capitalism and the state can foster growth that improves overall prosperity and quality of life. The authors explores a variety of topics and uses a mixture of current/recent statistics, historical data, empirical evidence from the literature, and (some) economic and political theory to illustrate their points.

I found this book pretty clear and well written overall, but I did find its scope a bit confusing. It felt like the authors were sometimes taking on the largest possible ideas and then zooming in on very specific ones without a lot of cohesion and symmetry. It now makes a bit more sense as I look at other Goodreads reviews and understand this might just be due to what the authors are specifically interested in or have written about before. Regardless, this made my reading experience feel a bit disjointed.

[Marc Sabatier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, that synthesises a wide literature on innovation, the labor market and the role of the state as a insurer and protector.

I can see some criticism on this centering too much on Aghion's work, but I see it as a great strength to have a european economist take stock of the development in a debate that is often dominated by US economists. There were a lot of great examples and interpretation of cases from France and Europe, that often get drowned in a US-centric world.

The chapters were well written, with brief introductions and a core part that could get fairly technical, though without totally losing the lay reader.

[Ugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basically a summary of the work that won the 2025 Nobel Prize in economics, and it also serves as a readable summary of much of economics and government more generally. It's brilliantly clearly written, and I found some of the more historical chapters fascinating. At times I wished the authors hadn't felt the need to set out certain study methodologies or include the first and surnames of the authors of every study they cite, and was tempted to allocate only 4 stars for those reasons. But overall the book conveys such a reasoned and compelling argument for centrist capitalism bounded by social democratic rails that it just has to get all five stars.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides an interesting look at how systems like capitalism, private companies, government, patents, and society work together to drive innovation and growth, providing a good explanation of creative destruction—replacing old industries with new ones—and how it has shaped economies and improved lives over time. It’s not all rosy; they also dive into the downsides, like inequality and disruption.

Having spent a few years on a patent team and with a handful of them myself, it was a smart, thought provoking read.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a good balance here between sussing out the importance of innovation and incentives to do so, and the creative destruction process which renders former version obsolete. I found the first half of the book a bit more stimulating than the second half, at least judging the by number of areas I highlighted, as the last five or six chapters reiterated a lot of the themes and felt more like an HBR article.

[Eduardo Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro ameno, riguroso y cercano para no economistas, donde expone una serie de investigaciones y datos de la conveniencia de la innovación y el cambio, a través de la llamada destrucción creativa. Su mirada no solo económica sino de gran trasfondo político llama la atención, no esquivando los desafíos que implica.

[Mohsen Hosseini · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب رو برای درس اقتصاد دیجیتال این ترم خوندم و عالی بود.
آگیون از اقتصاددانهای مطرح حوزۀ فناوریه و موضوع فناوری رو از خیلی از جهتها توی کتاب بهش نگاه کرده.
چیزی که جالب بود استدلال های داده محوری بود که میکرد. هیچ جمله ای روی هوا و صرفا یک ادعا نیست. حتما چند خط بعد یا صفحۀ بعد یه نموداری کشیده و روی دیتا در مورد ادعایی که کرده حرف میزنه.

[Solomon Mcharo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It highlighted the striking differences between France’s economy and the USA’s economy. Discussed the challenges in Venture Capital Funding. And underscored the effect of creative destruction such as how when a type writer is replaced with a computer affects the calculations of inflation and a price increase from the quality of the product.

[Christian Oltra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro sólido, sencillo, bien escrito y documentado y muy equilibrado sobre el papel de la destrucción creativa y la innovación, así como del estado, el mercado y la sociedad civil en el crecimiento económico.

[Diego Ferreras · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of Philippe’s work and of the creative destruction paradigm more generally. The book is written for a general audience and reads like a typical business publication. This will be a plus for most people, but its information density is a bit too low for trained economists.

[Jorge Dajani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent synthesis of how capitalism is inherently dynamic and disruptive. And the need to have strong mechanisms to ensure that the disruption leads to innovation and growth vs disenchantment with the system

[Marks54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book! Review to follow.

[Saurabh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive and balanced view of the drivers and inhibitors of economic growth.

[Alejandro Vicente · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accurate description about insights and implications of one of the most powerful concepts in economic science.