The Big Flatline Oil and the No-Growth Economy

by Rubin, Jeff

• ISBN13: 9780230342187
• ISBN10: 0230342183
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-10-16
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

In an urgent follow-up to his best-selling Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller, Jeff Rubin argues that the end of cheap oil means the end of growth. What it will be like to live in a world where growth is over? Economist and resource analyst Jeff Rubin is certain that the world's governments are getting it wrong. Instead of moving us toward economic recovery, the measures being taken around the globe right now are digging us into a deeper hole. Both politicians and economists are missing the fact that the real engine of economic growth has always been cheap, abundant fuel and resources. But that era is over. The end of cheap oil, Rubin argues, signals the end of growth--and the end of easy answers to renewing prosperity. With China and India sucking up the lion's share of the world's ever more limited resources, the rest of us will have to make do with less. But is this all bad? Rubin points out that there is no research to show that people living in countries with hard-charging economies are happier, and plenty of research to show that some of the most contented people on the planet live in places with no growth or slow growth. But bad or good, it's the new reality, and Rubin reveals how our day-to-day lives will be drastically changed.

Author Biography

Jeff Rubin is the author of the bestselling Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller, which sold over 50,000 copies and was named one of the best books of the year by the Financial Times. Rubin was the Chief Economist and Chief Strategist at CIBC World Markets, where he worked for over twenty years. He was one of the first economists to accurately predict soaring oil prices back in 2000, and is now one of the world's most sought-after energy experts. He blogs weekly for The Globe and Mail and lives in Toronto.

Table of Contents

“A brisk introduction to a world of constrained energy supplies…the warning that constraints on energy use will set limits to growth is worth taking seriously.”--The Financial Times

“Contradicting conventional wisdom about the worldwide recession now in its fourth year, a Canadian economist predicts a gloomy future for consumers who worship growth…Clearly written and smartly argued.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Very few understand the negative impact of high priced oil on the world’s economy and the energy security and life style choices we’re used to. Fortunately, Jeff Rubin does.  He clearly explains what we can expect if we continue on our current course—relying on Twentieth Century solutions to Twenty First Century problems.  We need a game-changing array of energy solutions before the flatline becomes the downward spiral.  Jeff tells it like it needs to be told.”—John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil and author of Why We Hate the Oil Companies

"Anyone who cares about the future prospects of the world economy should read Jeff Rubin's The Big Flatline. With compelling logic, he demonstrates that high oil prices have made endless growth unsustainable and that new strategies are needed for survival in a zero-sum world."--Michael T. Klare, author of The Race for What's Left

"The biggest economic event since the Industrial Revolution is under way, but you won’t hear about it from any politician or central banker. Jeff Rubin is one of the very few economists with the insight and courage to tell it like it is: Oil-fueled economic growth is ending. We can adapt, but it sure helps to know what we must adapt to."--Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute and author of The End of Growth

“Thought-provoking and accessible.”--Publishers Weekly