According to Gary North, it is: why did economic growth compound, starting in the 1800s? There is no definitive answer yet. But North thinks Deirdre McCloskey is on the right track by looking to the 17th century Dutch for the root cause.
The Lou Church Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Lou Church Foundation, presented at the Austrian Economics Research Conference. Recorded 21 March 2013 at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Includes an introduction by Joseph T. Salerno.