Books

Current Project

The Master Resource

Energy, Growth and the Crisis of the Modern Economy

Why has economic growth slowed across much of the developed world over the past quarter century?

Economists have offered many explanations: demographics, productivity, debt, inequality, weak investment and the legacy of the financial crisis. While each contains an element of truth, I believe one of the most important variables has been consistently underestimated.

The Master Resource argues that the structural repricing of energy has fundamentally reshaped the global economy, influencing productivity, living standards, politics and national competitiveness in ways that conventional economic models have struggled to explain.

Drawing on economic history, energy economics and contemporary macroeconomic analysis, the book explores why energy is unlike any other input into production, how China’s industrialisation transformed global energy markets, and why the transition to a lower-carbon economy is likely to make energy policy even more central to economic success.

The book is currently in development. Many of the ideas first appear here as essays, and I welcome thoughtful comments and discussion as the project evolves.