Development Theory And The Economics Of Growth

Development Theory and the Economics of Growth

Why are some countries richer than others? Why do some economies grow so much faster than others do? Do economies tend to converge at similar levels of per capita income? Or is catching up simply impossible? These questions have vast implications for human welfare. After a period of lack of interest in growth theory, they are back on the research agenda of mainstream economics. They have also been at the heart of development economics since its inception some decades ago. This book endeavors to answer such questions by blending classical contributions to development theory with recent developments in the economics of growth. The unifying theme is that early theoretical insights and accumulated empirical knowledge of development economics have much to offer to research in the theory and empirics of economic growth. With the help of a number of recent contributions, the ideas and insights of the classical literature in development economics can be given simple and rigorous formulations. Together, they amount to an approach to growth theory that can overcome the long-recognized empirical shortcomings of neoclassical growth economics, while being free from the objections that can be raised against the new brand of endogenous growth theory. In addition to an original thesis on the contribution that early development theory can make to the research program of modern growth economics, the book provides professional and research economists and graduate students with an evaluation of the strengths and limitations of the different strands of inquiry in the modern economics of growth. In addition it presents findings on comparative growth performance across countries. Jaime Ros is Professor of Economics and Faculty Fellow of the Helen Kellogg Institute of International Studies, University of Notre Dame.

Theories of Economic Development and Growth

Rethinking Economic Development, Growth, and Institutions

Why are some countries richer than others? Why do some economies grow so much faster than others do? Do economies tend to converge to similar levels of per capita income? Or is catching up simply impossible? If modern technology has shown the potential to raise living standards to first-world levels, why is it that the vast majority of the world's population lives in poverty in underdeveloped countries? These questions have been at the heart of development economics since its inception several decades ago and are now at the center of the research agenda of the modern economics of growth. This book reviews the answers to these questions in the contemporary fields of growth theory and comparative development. It is a sequel to Development Theory and the Economics of Growth published in 2000 with the aim to vindicate the theoretical insights and accumulated empirical knowledge of classical development economics and to integrate them into the mainstream of modern growth economics. The growth and development fields have expanded in the last twelve years in welcome directions that aim to deepen our understanding of the fundamental determinants of comparative development. This new book evaluates these new directions, including developments in endogenous growth theory and economic geography as well as the rise and challenge of the new institutional economics, in the light of the earlier, classical contributions to development theory.