Has American innovation stalled?

Boeing 787 Dreamliner
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner operated by United Airlines takes off at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, Calif.
David McNew/Getty Images

A feature in The Economist last month posed the question, "Has the ideas machine broken down?" In other words, have innovation and technology stopped driving economic growth worldwide?

That question has been more urgent as Boeing struggles with one of the most innovative aircraft to barrel down a runway in decades. Journalists at Bloomberg BusinessWeek wrote recently: "The Dreamliner's troubles reflect a wider trend. Innovation in mature economies such as America's...seem stuck in a perpetual holding pattern."

The Economist economic correspondent Ryan Avent and Harvard Business School historian Nancy F. Koehn will join The Daily Circuit Monday, Feb. 18 to talk about innovation and the economy.

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