The notion of productivity carries a very negative connotation. It is commonly associated with worker exploitation, relentless productivism, and environmental destruction in an endless quest for ever-higher profits.

In this extremely clear and pedagogical book, Antonin Bergeaud (winner of the 2025 Best Young Economist Award) challenges this perception. As an essential driver of growth, increased productivity has enabled each generation over the past century and a half to be more prosperous and healthier than the previous one, while also enjoying more leisure time. The author thus invites us to rethink productivity not as an end in itself, but as a lever for reviving economic progress without sacrificing the European values of solidarity and sustainability.