High oil prices are killing economies, says new book

Jeff Rubin’s new book says high oil prices are killing economies. But his thesis is let down by some muddled thinking

Forget the US’ sub-prime mess, the eurozone crisis, or predatory banks. The global financial meltdown started with soaring oil prices. Economic growth will end with them. Higher energy prices aren’t a symptom of economic problems, they are the cause. Economic growth depends on burning more oil. But because easy, cheap-to-extract supplies are dwindling, an era of expensive energy is upon us. Welcome to the brave new world of everlasting economic stasis. In a nutshell, this is the argument in Jeff Rubin’s book, The Big Flatline: Oil And The No-Growth Economy*. “We’re about to face a permanent slowdown in growth,” he argues. The world is