The Idea Equation

 The idea equation goes like this:

Population x Incentives x Ideas per hour

When these things go up, growth goes up, because ideas are the key to economic growth. So, are they going up? Let's look at them one by one. The population of Earth has been steadily rising, since, um, forever, so that's good! Incentives are increasing as dictatorships fall and cooperation between countries increases. Ideas per hour are tricky because it is difficult to calculate. We don't know if this is subject to diminishing returns, or if it's subject to increasing returns. But, we can say confidently that if things keep going the way they are now, the world will continue to grow in wealth.