Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy

How did paper money originate? In what ways did the contraceptive pill impact the legal profession? What significance does the horse collar hold in human progress compared to the steam engine? How did the spreadsheet revolutionize finance? The world economy is a complex, ever-evolving system that encompasses over ten billion distinct products and services, doubles in size every fifteen years, and connects nearly all seven billion people on Earth. While it provides immense luxury to many, it also leaves countless others behind and strains our ecosystem. No single individual can grasp its entirety, raising the question of how we can make sense of this intricate system that shapes our lives. Through a series of inventions—from tally-sticks to Bitcoin, canal locks to jumbo jets—each with its own intriguing story, readers will uncover the underlying connections that define our economic landscape. Discover how the barcode affected local businesses, why the gramophone contributed to inequality, and how barbed wire influenced American development. Meet the innovators behind these inventions and explore the economic principles that elucidate their impacts. Ultimately, the narrative invites reflection on how we can wisely navigate future innovations in an era of rapid change.