The terrifying title of Stephen King's latest book will tempt some people to dismiss it as an exercise in scaremongering to be filed alongside the efforts of his horror-writing namesake. But Mr King, the chief economist of hsbc, is not the kind of run-of-the-mill Jeremiah who calls for citizens to buy gold and shotguns and retreat to a mountain hideout; his book is well-written, thoughtful and highly convincing. The title is, as the author quickly admits, "a turn of phrase, not the literal truth...paper money never actually runs out". But Mr King does believe that the ability of the developed world to generate significant economic growth, and thus wealth, has declined. As he points out, in the first four decades of his own life real British incomes per head almost tripled; in his fifth decade, they rose just 4%.
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