The Economics of Arrival – about our book

I’ve mentioned it a few times, but I’ve haven’t yet given you a proper introduction to what I’ve been working on with Katherine Trebeck over the last couple of years. Now that the publishing details are all confirmed, let me correct that. Our forthcoming book is called The Economics of Arrival: Ideas for a grown-up economy, and it’ll be available from Policy Press on the 15th of January 2019.

The book covers many of the themes of the blog, but wrapped around the central concept of ‘arrival’. That’s the reality that in the world’s most developed countries, decades of economic growth have already achieved what previous generations hoped for. We have arrived, and it’s time for a new challenge – how to make ourselves at home with this prosperity, and make sure that everyone is included.

It’s a vital question, because in pursuing ‘more’ past the point of a generous enough, we risk losing everything we’ve already gained. Inequality, climate change and fractured politics are already undermining the prosperity that we worked so hard to achieve.

Embracing a postgrowth economy isn’t about limits or self-restriction. It’s a success story: the work of growth is done. It’s time to talk about improving rather than endlessly enlarging, to shift from quantity to quality.

The Economics of Arrival is more researched and scholarly than the blog here, thanks to Katherine’s robust academic credentials. It’s packed with positive solutions and real life examples that demonstrate what we’re talking about, and it offers new language for describing the possibilities of a postgrowth future. It’s got a great foreword from Kate Raworth of Doughnut Economics, and we’re delighted to be with a not-for-profit publisher too.

I’ll say more about the book and its messages when we get nearer to publication, but if you’re so inclined, you can pre-order today.