Big Is Beautiful
Big Is Beautiful is Robert Atkinson and Michael Lind’s account that small business is not, as is widely claimed, the basis of American prosperity, as they are not responsible for most of the country's job creation and innovation. This book tackles the advantages of scale for job creation, productivity, innovation, and virtually all other economic benefits that encourage growth rather than enshrine an anachronism. Big Is Beautiful overthrows the “small is beautiful” ideology, and recognizes that large firms are the engines of progress and prosperity.
"In an age of mindless partisanship and chronic groupthink, Atkinson and Lind are just the kind of antidote that we need. Whether you agree with their thesis or not―and especially if you disagree―you should read this book. You will not have wasted your time."
―Edward Luce, Washington commentator, Financial Times
"The authors are correct that many people overrate both the benefits of small business and the evils of bigness. And although antimonopolism is rightly getting renewed attention, it is not equipped to deal with most of what ails the economy."
―Harvard Business Review
"Big Is Beautiful succeeds in highlighting why it is in our collective interest to find ways to help the biggest corporations earn back our trust."
―New York Times
Table of Contents
Part I History and Present Trends
1 Belittled: How Small Became Beautiful
2 Why Business Got Big: A Brief History
3 Understanding US Firm Size and Dynamics
Part II The Advantages of Size
4 The Bigger the Better: The Economics of Firm Size
5 Small Business job Creation: Myth Versus Reality
6 The Myth of the Genius in the Garage: Big Innovation
7 Small Business in a Big World
Part III Politics and Policy
8 A Republic, If You Can Keep It: Big Business and Democracy
9 The Strange Career of Antitrust
10 Brandeis Is Back: The Fall and Rise of the Antimonopoly Tradition
11 Has Big Business Gotten Too Big?
12 Small Business Cronyism: Policies Favoring Small Business
13 Living with Giants