Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria : Nobel Laureate Stiglitz explores the social challenges posed by the digital revolution

What exactly is going on? In his opinion, this phenomenon has its roots in basic economics, and began about 40 years ago. Until then, Stiglitz maintains, the assumption was that if the economy improved, all of society would benefit and that's what occurred. But starting in the late 1970s, that rule was no longer foolproof. 'There started to be a disconnect between higher productivity and salaries, which have practically remained stable,' he explained, supported by historical data.

At first, Stiglitz said, politics allowed this situation to exist, and subsequently an attempt was made to apply policies that 'do not work' such as putting faith in market mechanisms alone or turning to protectionism.

The Nobel Laureate indicated that throughout these decades, the middle class has grown in China, the rest of Asia, and even in Africa. Meanwhile, the working class in Europe and the U.S. has suffered the consequences of deindustrialization. 'It's understandable for them to be angry and look for something to blame, such as trade agreements.' In his opinion, the key lies in what solution can be found through politics.

The digital revolution makes this challenge even more urgent. 'The size of the economic pie is growing, but we have seen that the problem is how that pie is divided up,' he explained. 'They are technologies that could offer major benefits, but also major problems.' He specifically pointed to the risk of created semi-monopolies of tech giants, the possibility of large-scale manipulation of politics through social networks and the loss of privacy.