Average is Over

Powering America Beyond the Age of the Great Stagnation

By: Tyler Cowen

Narrated by: Andrew Garman

The widening gap between rich and poor means dealing with one big, uncomfortable truth: If you're not at the top, you're at the bottom.

The global labor market is changing radically thanks to growth at the high end and the low. About three quarters of the jobs created in the United States since the great recession pay only a bit more than minimum wage. Still, the United States has more millionaires and billionaires than any country ever, and we continue to mint them.

In this eye-opening audiobook, renowned economist and best-selling author Tyler Cowen explains that phenomenon: High earners are taking ever more advantage of machine intelligence in data analysis and achieving ever-better results. Meanwhile, low earners, who haven't committed to learning or to making the most of new technologies, have poorer prospects. Nearly every business sector relies less and less on manual labor, and this fact is forever changing the world of work and wages. A steady, secure life somewhere in the middle is over.

With The Great Stagnation, Cowen explained why median wages stagnated over the last four decades; in Average is Over he reveals the essential nature of the new economy, identifies the best path forward for workers and entrepreneurs, and provides listeners with actionable advice to make the most of the new economic landscape. It is a challenging and sober must-listen - but ultimately exciting and good news. In debates about our nation's economic future, it will be impossible to ignore.

©2013 Tyler Cowen (P)2013 Recorded Books

great book

well narrated. good ideas, predictions. the first 3 and last 2 chapters are the best. the chess bit is ok...but parts drag on near the end of the book

Wow its predictions are incredibly accurate

This book was released in 2013, it's 2026 of me reading this now and I just ordered the kindle book version so I can re-read and annotate for the parts that I missed. For some reason the first time I read something I always miss something.

Five Years Later Predictions Holding

Even after five years and with some economic realities somewhat different it's interesting to hear how close we are to the road he predicts..

Computers Will Take Jobs, Including Book Narrators

Where does Average is Over rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I like Tyler Cowen's message, but the performance of this was not great. The narrator sounded rather bland and flat.

What did you like best about this story?

This non-fiction book tells a compelling tale of technological unemployment. Tyler Cowen is a bit of a fear-monger, but he's probably at least a little bit right.

Insightful bits about artifical intelligence

The book starts and ends strong. Great points about AI, wealth inequality, and careers. The politics aren't ones I agree with necessarily and become more apparent at the very end of the book, but overall I do not find obnoxious. The only real criticism of this book is the extreme focus on chess. I feel like this is two books, one about future economic prediction, and the other just literally about chess trivia, chess AI, and chess champions. The chess parts are interesting, but they go on for far too long.