Handbook of Economic Growth

Book description

Volumes 2A and 2B of The Handbook of Economic Growth summarize recent advances in theoretical and empirical work while offering new perspectives on a range of growth mechanisms, from the roles played by institutions and organizations to the ways factors beyond capital accumulation and technological change can affect growth. Written by research leaders, the chapters summarize and evaluate recent advances while explaining where further research might be profitable. With analyses that are provocative and controversial because they are so directly relevant to public policy and private decision-making, these two volumes uphold the standard for excellence in applied economics set by Volumes 1A and 1B (2005).



  • Offers definitive theoretical and empirical scholarship about growth economics
  • Empowers readers to evaluate the work of other economists and to plan their own research projects
  • Demonstrates the value of empirical testing, with its implicit conclusion that our understanding of economic growth will help everyone make better decisions

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. Contributors
  6. Chapter 1. Culture, Entrepreneurship, and Growth
    1. Abstract
    2. 1.1 Introduction
    3. 1.2 A Framework for Analyzing the Interaction of Cultural Preferences, Entrepreneurship, and Growth
    4. 1.3 Endogenous Culture I: Weber and the Transmission of Patience
    5. 1.4 Endogenous Culture II: Knight and the Transmission of Risk Tolerance
    6. 1.5 Paternalistic Motives for Preference Transmission
    7. 1.6 Literature Review
    8. 1.7 Outlook and Conclusions
    9. Acknowledgments
    10. A Proofs of Propositions and Lemmas
    11. References
  7. Chapter 2. Trust, Growth, and Well-Being: New Evidence and Policy Implications
    1. Abstract
    2. 2.1 Introduction
    3. 2.2 Theoretical Foundations
    4. 2.3 Empirical Measures of Trust
    5. 2.4 The Dynamics of Trust
    6. 2.5 Trust, Income Per Capita, and Growth
    7. 2.6 Channels of Influence of Trust on Economic Outcomes
    8. 2.7 Institutions, Policies, and Trust
    9. 2.8 Future Avenues: Trust and Well-Being
    10. Acknowledgments
    11. References
  8. Chapter 3. Long-Term Barriers to Economic Development
    1. Abstract
    2. 3.1 Introduction
    3. 3.2 A Theory of Relatedness and Growth
    4. 3.3 Empirical Methodology and Data
    5. 3.4 Barriers to Development: Empirical Results
    6. 3.5 Ancestry and Long-Run Development
    7. 3.6 Conclusion
    8. APPENDIX 1 Technologies Used in the Various Datasets
    9. References
  9. Chapter 4. Family Ties
    1. Abstract
    2. 4.1 Introduction
    3. 4.2 Literature Review
    4. 4.3 Conceptual Framework
    5. 4.4 How to Measure Family Ties
    6. 4.5 Where Family Ties Come From
    7. 4.6 Empirical Analysis
    8. 4.7 Family Ties, Development, and Institutions
    9. 4.8 Family Ties and Well-being
    10. 4.9 Conclusion
    11. Acknowledgment
    12. References
  10. Chapter 5. The Industrial Revolution
    1. Abstract
    2. 5.1 Introduction
    3. 5.2 Theories of the Industrial Revolution
    4. 5.3 Changes in People
    5. 5.4 Technological Change Before the Industrial Revolution
    6. 5.5 Conclusion
    7. References
  11. Chapter 6. Twentieth Century Growth
    1. Abstract
    2. 6.1 Introduction
    3. 6.2 Setting the Stage
    4. 6.3 Twentieth century growth: What Happened?
    5. 6.4 The Proximate Sources of Growth
    6. 6.5 Growth in the Leader: The United States
    7. 6.6 The Economic Historian’s View of Catch-Up
    8. 6.7 Case Studies I: Initial Success, Subsequent Disappointment
    9. 6.8 Case Studies II: Success, At Least for Now
    10. 6.9 Case Studies III: Failures
    11. 6.10 Conclusions
    12. References
  12. Chapter 7. Historical Development
    1. Abstract
    2. 7.1 Introduction
    3. 7.2 European Colonial Rule
    4. 7.3 Other Important Historical Events
    5. 7.4 Geography and History
    6. 7.5 Mechanisms Underlying Historical Persistence
    7. 7.6 Unresolved Questions And Directions for Future Research
    8. 7.7 Conclusions: Looking Back while Moving Forward
    9. Acknowledgment
    10. References
  13. Chapter 8. Institutions and Economic Growth in Historical Perspective
    1. Abstract
    2. 8.1 Introduction
    3. 8.2 Lesson 1: Public-Order Institutions are Necessary for Markets to Function
    4. 8.3 Lesson 2: Strong Parliaments do not Guarantee Economic Success
    5. 8.4 Lesson 3: The Key Distinction Is Between Generalized and Particularized Institutions
    6. 8.5 Lesson 4: Property Rights Institutions and Contracting Institutions Both Matter, and are not Separable
    7. 8.6 Lesson 5: Property Rights are More Likely to be Beneficial for Growth if they are Generalized Rather than Particularized
    8. 8.7 Lesson 6: Security of Private Property Rights is a Matter of Degree (and Needs Careful Analysis)
    9. 8.8 Lesson 7. Institutions are Embedded in a Wider Institutional System
    10. 8.9 Lesson 8: Distributional Conflicts are Central
    11. 8.10 Illustration of the Lessons: Serfdom and Growth
    12. 8.11 Conclusion
    13. Acknowledgment
    14. References
  14. Chapter 1. What Do We Learn From Schumpeterian Growth Theory?
    1. Abstract
    2. 1.1 Introduction
    3. 1.2 Schumpeterian Growth: Basic Model
    4. 1.3 Growth Meets IO
    5. 1.4 Schumpeterian Growth and Firm Dynamics
    6. 1.5 Growth Meets Development
    7. 1.6 Schumpeterian Waves
    8. 1.7 Conclusion
    9. Acknowledgment
    10. References
  15. Chapter 2. Technology Diffusion: Measurement, Causes, and Consequences
    1. Abstract
    2. 2.1 Introduction
    3. 2.2 Measurement
    4. 2.3 Drivers of Technology Adoption
    5. 2.4 Effects of Technology Adoption
    6. 2.5 Concluding Remarks
    7. A Description of Technologies used to Estimate Diffusion Curves
    8. B Additional Tables
    9. References
  16. Chapter 3. Health and Economic Growth
    1. Abstract
    2. 3.1 Introduction
    3. 3.2 Facts
    4. 3.3 Interaction of Health and Income: A theoretical Framework
    5. 3.4 Impact of Income on Health
    6. 3.5 Impact of Health on Economic Growth
    7. 3.6 Health as a Component of Economic Growth
    8. 3.7 Conclusion
    9. Acknowledgments
    10. References
  17. Chapter 4. Regional Growth and Regional Decline
    1. Abstract
    2. 4.1 Introduction
    3. 4.2 Convergence, Divergence, Polarization
    4. 4.3 Do Regional Disparities Matter?
    5. 4.4 Models of Regional Prosperity
    6. 4.5 Geography and Growth
    7. 4.6 Regional Prosperity: Data and Methods
    8. 4.7 What Determines Regional Prosperity?
    9. 4.8 Regional Decline
    10. 4.9 Conclusions
    11. 4.10 Appendix: Data and Methods
    12. Acknowledgments
    13. References
  18. Chapter 5. The Growth of Cities
    1. Abstract
    2. 5.1 Introduction
    3. 5.2 Land Use and Transportation
    4. 5.3 Housing
    5. 5.4 Urban Amenities
    6. 5.5 Agglomeration Economies
    7. 5.6 Human Capital and Entrepreneurship
    8. 5.7 Random Urban Growth
    9. 5.8 Conclusion
    10. Acknowledgments
    11. References
  19. Chapter 6. Growth and Structural Transformation
    1. Abstract
    2. 6.1 Introduction
    3. 6.2 The Stylized Facts of Structural Transformation
    4. 6.3 Modeling Structural Transformation and Growth
    5. 6.4 The Economic Forces Behind Structural Transformation: Theoretical Analysis
    6. 6.5 The Economic Forces Behind Structural Transformation: Empirical Analysis
    7. 6.6 Extensions of the Benchmark Model
    8. 6.7 Applications of Structural Transformation
    9. 6.8 Conclusion
    10. Acknowledgments
    11. Appendix A Data Sources and Sector Assignments
    12. Appendix B Panel Regressions
    13. References
  20. Chapter 7. The Chinese Growth Miracle
    1. Abstract
    2. 7.1 Introduction
    3. 7.2 Economic Growth in China: Achievements and Features
    4. 7.3 The Economics of the Miracle
    5. 7.4 The Political Economy of the Miracle
    6. 7.5 Explaining China’s Export-led Growth Model
    7. 7.6 Domestic and Global Imbalances
    8. 7.7 Inequality and the Middle-income Trap
    9. 7.8 Conclusions
    10. Acknowledgments
    11. References
  21. Chapter 8. Growth from Globalization? A View from the Very Long Run
    1. Abstract
    2. 8.1 Introduction
    3. 8.2 Measuring “Globalization”
    4. 8.3 Channels: The Theoretical Links between Globalization and Growth
    5. 8.4 Globalization and History: From Antiquity to the 18th Century
    6. 8.5 Globalization and the British Industrial Revolution
    7. 8.6 Globalization and the International Diffusion of the Industrial Revolution: 1820–1913
    8. 8.7 Cross-Country Comparative Evidence from the Late 19th Century
    9. 8.8 Globalization and the Great Divergence: The Periphery Falls Behind
    10. 8.9 Conclusions
    11. Acknowledgments
    12. References
  22. Author Index
  23. Subject Index

Product information

  • Title: Handbook of Economic Growth
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: December 2013
  • Publisher(s): North Holland
  • ISBN: 9780444535474