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Icarus Economics

Why Rich Economies Are Struggling - and How to Fix Them
Brief Description
Every leader comes to power promising growth: think back to the campaigns of Boris, Truss, Sunak, Starmer, Trump. Yet real-term income hasn't improved in the UK since 2008. Across the West, growth has stagnated for well over a decade, leading to cost of living crises, political... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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From the acclaimed co-author of Why Empires Fall, a bold vision for how to put Western economies back on a sustainable footing.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Every leader comes to power promising growth: think back to the campaigns of Boris, Truss, Sunak, Starmer, Trump. Yet real-term income hasn't improved in the UK since 2008. Across the West, growth has stagnated for well over a decade, leading to cost of living crises, political instability, and rising social tensions.

Is real economic growth still possible? And with the climate emergency accelerating beyond repair, should we still be pushing for it?

In Icarus Economics, acclaimed economist John Rapley argues that the problem of growth is inherently tied up with the climate crisis. We often assume that poor countries will bear the brunt of climate change, pandemics, and other exogenous shocks, but this book argues the opposite: western societies have more wealth and capital to lose and are less inherently resilient. In this book, he shows us how rich countries can grow their own economies by helping poor countries to decarboniseβ€”and in the process, mitigate the effects of climate change.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781805465317

Publisher: Atlantic Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 26 February 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Atlantic Books

Edition: Main

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 138.0mm

Height: 216.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 272

About the Author

John Rapley is a Senior Fellow at the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Studies. His books include Twilight of the Money Gods and Why Empires Fall (co-authored with Peter Heather).

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