Why the West is Failing

Low growth has become the economic default in the West. While China and other Asian Tigers continue to steam ahead, western commentators either argue that stagnation is inevitable, ignore growth to focus on other factors such as inflation or inequality, or disclaim growth altogether. In this iconoclastic book, veteran businessman and economist John Mills strongly refutes these assumptions. He argues that the anaemic performance of western economies since the 1970s is due to the dominance of a policy framework which has fatally ignored the importance of industrial competitiveness. He shows that the key to driving up productivity - and thereby growth - is to promote a revival of manufacturing through investment and a competitive exchange rate policy. This will not only produce the extra resources we need to tackle climate change, but reduce the risk of western politics continuing to spiral towards populist excess. It will also allow us to arrest the baleful political consequences of Chinese economic domination. No-one interested in the future of the global economy can afford to miss this spirited attack on the policies that have driven the West into economic failure for decades.