The Economic Growth Engine

A friend referred me to a book by Ayres and Warr entitled "The Economic Growth Engine". The authors of this unique book explore the fundamental relationship between thermodynamics (physical work) and economics. They take a realistic approach to explaining the relationship between technological progress, thermodynamic efficiency and economic growth, the findings of which conclude with a fundamental explanation of endogenous growth that is both quantifiable and consistent with the laws of thermodynamics. A major implication of this is that future economic growth is not guaranteed in as much as efficiency gains that have driven past growth may not continue in the future.

The Economic Growth Engine: How Energy and Work Drive Material Prosperity
Par Robert U. Ayres, Benjamin Warr
Publié par Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2009
ISBN 1848441827, 9781848441828
416 pages

This book contains a simple robust model of economic output with which we can accurately predict just how bad things are going to get.