FINNOV

Abstract: This article holds that the recent financial collapse belongs to a family of major boom and bust episodes associated with the way in which successive technological revolutions are assimilated by the economy and society. This understanding would move policy thinking away from trying to regulate against further bubbles and, instead, towards actively shaping market conditions to enable the full flourishing of the newly installed technological potential into what can be a sustainable global golden age. Such an objective would also guide the necessary changes in taxation and the financial system in order to make real economy investment more profitable than casino finance. The article briefly describes the recurring historical pattern, discusses the nature of what can be seen as the recent double bubble collapse and examines the elements of a possible global golden age combining universal ICT, “green” growth and full global development.