There is now a considerable literature in capital theory dealing with "learning by doing" and with the question of the "embodiment" of technical knowledge of a given period in the capital goods produced in that period. There have, however, been relatively few attempts to examine these questions...

In February 2008, the President of the French Republic, Nicholas Sarkozy, unsatisfied with the present state of statistical information about the economy and the society, asked, Joseph Stiglitz (President of the Commission), Amartya Sen (Advisor) and Jean Paul Fitoussi (Coordinator) to create a...