Dynamism

Nobel Laureate Edmund Phelps and an international group of economists argue that economic health depends on the widespread presence of certain values, in particular individualism and self-expression.Nobel Laureate Edmund Phelps has long argued that the high level of innovation in the lead nations of the West was never a result of scientific discoveries plus entrepreneurship, as Schumpeter thought. Yet finding links between nations' values and their dynamism was a daunting task. Rather, modern values--particularly the individualism, vitalism, and self-expression prevailing among the people--fueled the dynamism needed for widespread, indigenous innovation.

Now, in Dynamism, Phelps and a trio of coauthors take it on.Phelps, Raicho Bojilov, Hian Teck Hoon, and Gylfi Zoega find evidence that differences in nations' values matter--and quite a lot. It is no