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# Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages
- URL: https://www.nedness.com/book-club/technological-revolutions-and-financial-capital-the-dynamics-of-bubbles-and-golden-ages/
- Published: 2026-09-02T17:32:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-04T14:44:30.000Z
- Author: Peggy Curley
- Tags: #book-club, Strategy, Risk, Early-stage, Established

## What the book does

Perez explains how big waves of technology and finance tend to move together: excitement builds, money piles in, bubbles form, and then the real work begins. She uses examples from past industrial revolutions through to the information age to show why major shifts rarely arrive without disruption, and why boards need to look beyond the hype.

## What it changes in practice

For boards and investment committees, the book helps separate the technology itself from the financial noise around it. Whether the discussion is AI, infrastructure, energy transition or digital platforms, it gives a simple way to ask: are we seeing early installation, speculation, wider adoption or genuine productive use? It also reminds us to look at the systems, skills and institutions that need to catch up with the innovation. 

## Why I recommend it

Even though this book was published in 2002, the question at the heart of it feels very current for boards: how do we recognise lasting technological, productive change without getting swept up in the market excitement around it? Perez’s framing of the installation, frenzy, turning point and deployment model, gives useful language for AI, digital infrastructure, energy transition and platform strategy discussions. 

 The limitation is that it is a broad economic lens, not a governance checklist, so directors need to translate it into questions about timing, capability, investment discipline, and organisational readiness. This wider lens has helped me to consider how the promise for the opportunity may be real, while the timing, institutional readiness and investment case may still be wrong. 

## Who it suits

Best for directors and investment committee members testing technology strategy, capital allocation and timing. Less ideal if you want a step-by-step governance checklist. 

## Recommended by 

Nanette Van Vliet, NEDness Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer