Introduction : Whither the Economy ?

The global economy is emerging painfully from the financial crisis that kicked off in 2008 in the United States and then hit Europe. The economic debate is now shifting from the urgencies of the crisis to taking a look at more distant horizons. Global warming is currently demanding investment in new technologies and changes in consumption patterns. More generally, current trends are once again raising the old but still topical question of the economic and social stability of market economies. This question has multiple ramifications: in addition to the issues of instability and financial crisis there are the dynamics of inequality and the distribution of income. Finally, with the emergence of digital technologies, technical change is posing new questions. While digital potentials are often formulated in ways that provoke anxiety, the ability of these technologies to improve our everyday lives is one of the key issues facing thinking about the economy over the next twenty years