OceanofPDF.com How progress ends - Carl benedikt frey
The provided excerpt is the comprehensive index of Carl Benedikt Frey's book How Progress Ends: Technology, Innovation, and the Fate of Nations. It lists over a thousand entries—people, firms, governments, historical events, scientific concepts, and thematic terms—each linked to specific page or footnote locations. The index reflects the book’s wide‑ranging comparative study of why technological progress sometimes stalls, contrasting centralized/planned economies with decentralized market systems. It reveals the breadth of case studies (e.g., Soviet computing, Chinese industrial policy, the U.S. automobile industry, mRNA vaccine development), the intellectual lineage (Hayek, von Mises, Weber, Coase, Acemoglu), and the institutional mechanisms examined (patent law, antitrust, education, bureaucracy, state‑owned enterprises, venture capital). The index also shows the book’s structural organization: a historical narrative, theoretical framing, and policy‑oriented conclusions about the institutional fit for different stages of technological development.
Topics
Institutional and Geographic Comparisons
An analytical comparison of how different institutional arrangements—centralized planning versus market‑driven competition—and regional contexts (United States, Europe, China, Japan, Soviet Union, etc.) shape the trajectory of technological progress. The topic examines institutions such as patent systems, antitrust regimes, education structures, state‑owned enterprises, and venture capital ecosystems across these geographies.
Historical Case Studies and Technological Domains
A narrative exploration of specific episodes where technological progress stalled or accelerated, covering sectors such as Soviet computing, Chinese industrial policy, U.S. automobile industry, semiconductor development, wireless telegraphy, and mRNA vaccine innovation. The topic links each case to the institutional environment that enabled or constrained advancement.
Policy Instruments, Institutional Inertia, and Reform
A policy‑oriented analysis of how instruments such as patent law, antitrust enforcement, education reforms, public‑private partnerships, and venture capital shape innovation dynamics. The topic also assesses historical reforms like the New Deal, the Marshall Plan, and contemporary policy experiments that either create inertia or catalyze breakthroughs.