Average Is over

One of the World's most acclaimed economists delivers his magnum opus on the future of labor in America.

There are more rich people and more poor people in our country than ever before. That widening gap means dealing with one big, uncomfortable truth: The middle is growing thinner and thinner.

In this eye-opening book, globally renowned economist and bestselling author Tyler Cowen explains how this phenomenon emerged: High earners are taking ever more advantage of machine intelligence in data analysis in all its guises and achieving ever-better results. Meanwhile, low earners who haven't committed to learning, to making the most of new technologies, have poor prospects. Nearly every business sector relies less and less on manual labor for high-value jobs, and this fact is forever changing the world of work and wages. About three-quarters of the jobs created in the United States since the great recession pay $13.52 an hour or less. There is no longer a steady, secure life somewhere in the middle-average is over.

With The Great Stagnation, Cowen explained why median wages stagnated over the last four decades; in Average Is Over he reveals what the new features of this economy mean for taxes (they will go up for higher earners), government spending (Medicaid will become stingier), employee benefits (health-care insurance premiums will continue to go up), debt (it will be reduced by spending less money on junk and wasteful consumption), and education (students will not be well served by one system). Most importantly, Cowen identifies the best path forward for workers and entrepreneurs and provides readers with a road map to a new economic landscape.

Cowen's message is challenging and sober but ultimately exciting and even inspiring. In debates about our nation's economic future, the fact that average is over will be impossible to ignore. And Cowen's acute vision frames the opportunity for us all.