Six scholars discuss dynamism, its benefits, and its obstacles.

If we want more people in more places building and creating more good things, what should we do?

This volume, edited by Ryan Streeter, presents perspectives on key issues of economic and societal dynamism by Ryan Decker (Federal Reserve), Ed Glaeser (Harvard University), Deirdre McCloskey (University of Illinois at Chicago), Edmund Phelps (Columbia University), Dan Shoag (Case Western Reserve University), and Cass Sunstein (Harvard Law School).

The chapters in Dynamism and Its Enemies began as presentations at the 2024 Austin Symposium, a one-day seminar on dynamism in America hosted by the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. This first annual event, held in one of America’s most dynamic cities, was designed to bring various leading scholars of dynamism’s various aspects into one place in order to think together about how to foster a more dynamic future.

• Contributor Bios
• Introduction by Ryan Streeter
• Part I: The History and Nature of Dynamic Societies
  • 1. Deirdre McCloskey, “The Great Enrichment”
  • 2. Edmund Phelps, “Reflections on Mass Flourishing, Ten Years Later”
• Part II: How Policymakers Inhibit or Promote Dynamism in Our Economy
  • 3. Edward Glaeser, “Dynamism and Stagnation: An Outlook”
  • 4. Cass Sunstein, “Sludge, Stagnation, and Dynamism”
• Part III: Key Drivers of Dynamic Economies: New Businesses and Housing
  • 5. Ryan Decker, “Recent Patterns of New Business Creation”
  • 6. Daniel Shoag, “The Housing and Migration Crisis”
• Acknowledgements