Innovation won't overcome stagnation

Policymakers think technology will save them. It's an illusion

Most new technologies have significant benefits but don’t radically reshape the modes of doing things. Photo: iSTOCK

Innovation, everybody hopes, will rescue the world from economic stagnation. I’m not so sure.

The extent to which an innovation is significant depends on the degree to which it alters existing activity or the performance of a function. It must create related and ancillary activities that in turn lead to employment, wealth and other discoveries in a virtuous cycle. It must have longevity, being capable of exploitation over long periods. These characteristics