The Roosevelt Institute and the Kauffman Foundation have jointly released a new e-book, The Good Economy, co-authored by Russell Sage Foundation trustee and Roosevelt Senior Fellow Bo Cutter, Kauffman Vice President Dane Stangler, and Council on Foreign Relations Adjunct Senior Fellow Robert Litan. The book explores different economic scenarios facing the United States and describes a future in which innovation could produce the strongest economic boom since the 1950s while also promoting broader opportunity and equity.

The Good Economy envisions an economic resurgence beginning in 2020 driven by factors such as the continued growth of freelancing platforms like Uber and Etsy coupled with the development of new advances like nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. The authors further forecast the rise of a new political dynamic as the federal government breaks free from political paralysis and cities and states serve as hubs of experimentation. However, they also caution that without a comprehensive overhaul of business, labor rights, government spending and other issues, such shifts would entail more risk and instability for workers.

“By 2040, our definitions of ‘work’ and ‘job’ may be very different,” said Cutter. “Changes in the economy could force average workers to become entrepreneurs, making use of new technologies and services to acquire skills and opportunities while taking on more responsibility for their own health care and retirement.” But, he added, “if they can manage the transition, they will be able to find more work even as more jobs become automated.”

Click here to read the press release. A full PDF of the book can be downloaded from the Roosevelt Institute or the Kauffman Foundation.