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Someone born in the late 19th century would have lived through the most rapid period of technological progress in human history. By comparison, people born since the Second World War have seen stagnation and sclerosis. At least, that鈥檚 what some people claim - that we are living through 鈥渢he great stagnation鈥�.

The productivity of scientists and inventors is slowing - and economist Sam Bowman is worried. There are fewer new drugs coming to market, and it takes more and more people to make smaller computer chips. It takes longer for PhD students to finish their studies, and research grants go to ever older scientists.

The balance of research funding has shifted from government to companies, and companies look for profitable inventions rather than necessarily revolutionary ones. It looks as though big new ideas are getting harder to find. Can we fix the system, or are we doomed to permanent slowdown?

Presenter: Sam Bowman
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins
Executive Producer: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design & Engineering: Rob Speight
A Novel production for 麻豆官网首页入口 Radio 4