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Jobless Growth and the New Great Transformation

Jobless Growth and the New Great Transformation

Jobless Growth and the New Great Transformation

A Data Driven Analysis
Authors:
Fabiano Compagnucci, Gran Sasso Science Institute
Mauro Gallegati, Marche Polytechnic University
Andrea Gentili, Universitas Mercatorum
Enzo Valentini, University of Macerata
Published:
July 2026
Availability:
Not yet published - available from July 2026
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781009700085

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    Technological change and innovation have long fueled economic growth and employment. Yet, in recent decades, productivity gains have increasingly failed to translate into more jobs and higher wages. Jobless Growth and the New Great Transformation investigates this apparent paradox, by examining the theoretical and empirical evidence about the relationship between innovation and structural change. It combines rigorous and cutting-edge data analysis with EU case studies to reveal how recent technological breakthroughs, far from driving shared prosperity, have slowed growth, widened spatial divides and fueled societal polarization, partly due to excessive confidence in market deregulation. Drawing on data-driven analyses, the book explains why impacts of innovation vary so widely between regions and how history, institutions, and policy-not just market forces-determine who benefits from technological advances and who is left behind.

    • Explain the effects of the technological advance according with a structuralist and heterodox approach
    • Moves beyond generic 'jobs at risk' narratives to show where and why automation entrenches disparities, empowering policymakers to target interventions
    • Provides actionable pathways to avoid dystopian scenarios, appealing to scholars and practitioners seeking alternatives to laissez-faire approaches

    Reviews & endorsements

    ‘A timely book cleverly addressing a set of evergreen research questions in economics – What is the impact of technological change on jobs? Which countries, regions, industries, occupations are going to benefit and, conversely, who is going the bear the costs? – building on a rich theoretical framework and providing detailed empirical evidence. As the joint action of automation and digitalization is promising to further reshape labour markets, this book may be a very useful tool for understanding current trends and anticipating those that are coming.' Dario Guarascio, Professor of Economic Policy, Sapienza University of Rome

    ‘This is an essential book in the increasingly critical area of new great transformation and extended crisis theory by a very talented group of economists.’ Bruce Greenwald, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University

    Product details

    • Published: July 2026
    • Format: Hardback
    • ISBN: 9781009700092
    • Length: 300 pages
    • Dimensions: 229 × 152 mm
    • Availability: Not yet published - available from July 2026

    Table of Contents

    • 1. As an introduction
    • 2. Structural change and extended crises
    • 3. Employment, wages, and incomes
    • 4. Extended crises and robotization
    • 5. Euro area regional patterns
    • Conclusions
    • References.

    Authors

    Fabiano Compagnucci , Gran Sasso Science Institute

    Mauro Gallegati is a Professor in the Department of Management at Marche Polytechnic University. A prominent Italian economist, he has significantly advanced the field of complexity economics. His research emphasizes agent-based modeling (ABM) to analyze economic systems as complex, adaptive networks of heterogeneous agents. Gallegati has held visiting positions at esteemed institutions such as Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Cambridge, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition to his research, Professor Gallegati has served as the president of the Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents (ESHIA) Society.

    Mauro Gallegati , Marche Polytechnic University

    Enzo Valentini is an Associate Professor of Economic Policy at the Department of Political Science, Communication and International Relations of the University of Macerata. His main research topics are: structural change, economic impact of robotization, inequality, migrations.

    Andrea Gentili , Universitas Mercatorum

    Fabiano Compagnucci is an Assistant Professor at the Gran Sasso Science Institute. His current research focuses on structural change, technological innovation, and the socioeconomic dynamics of Italy's inner areas, with particular emphasis on the role of medium- and small-sized towns in present-day regional development contexts.

    Enzo Valentini , University of Macerata

    Andrea Gentili is Associate Professor of Political Economy at Universitas Mercatorum. He has been a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bologna and the Università Politecnica delle Marche and currently teaches Economics of Innovation in the master's degree in Management Engineering. His main field of research is macroeconomics, with a particular focus on labor markets and their relationship to technological change. He also carries research on migration, education, economic history and networks.