Industrial Shift: The Structure of the New World Economy

Book excerpt: In a turbulent global economy, the popular idea of declining farms and factories is largely unfounded. UN and World Bank data show growing output everywhere, but it remains hidden by the faster-growing service sector. Engineers, programmers, surgeons, and pilots make up an increasing share of what is actually the service sector, showing that this sector is not in decline. There is no doubt that industries are shifting, but how does it all add up? Quantifying these technology-driven shifts is fundamental, yet such publication has lagged for years, with stale ideas about what makes a healthy economy persisting since the 1940s. In this new work, Atikian gives us a freshly updated overview countering our tired assumptions about off-shoring, low wages, and industrial decline and providing us with...some fact based confidence in the economy.