On the mechanics of economic development

https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3932(88)90168-7Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper considers the prospects for constructing a neoclassical theory of growth and international trade that is consistent with some of the main features of economic development. Three models are considered and compared to evidence: a model emphasizing physical capital accumulation and technological change, a model emphasizing human capital accumulation through schooling, and a model emphasizing specialized human capital accumulation through learning-by-doing.

References (25)

  • Kenneth J. Arrow

    The economic implications of learning by doing

    Review of Economic Studies

    (1962)
  • William J. Baumol

    Productivity growth, convergence, and welfare: What the long-run data show

    American Economic Review

    (1986)
  • Gary S. Becker

    Human capital

    (1964)
  • Gary S. Becker

    A treatise on the family

    (1981)
  • Gary S. Becker et al.

    A reformulation of the economic theory of fertility

    (1985)
  • Peter J. Boxall

    Labor and population in a growth model

    (1986)
  • Edwin Burmeister et al.

    Mathematical theories of economic growth

    (1970)
  • Bradford DeLong

    Have productivity levels converged?

    (1987)
  • Edward P. Denison

    The sources of economic growth in the United States

    (1961)
  • Robert J. Gordon

    Measurement bias in price indexes for capital goods

    Review of Income and Wealth, Income and wealth series 17

    (1971)
  • Zvi Griliches et al.

    The explanation of productivity change

    Review of Economic Studies

    (1967)
  • Cited by (11967)

    • Security fragility in developing countries: Do ICT matter?

      2024, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics
    • Endogenous growth and human capital accumulation in a data economy

      2024, Structural Change and Economic Dynamics
    • The impact of high-speed railway on firms’ productivity

      2024, International Review of Economics and Finance
    View all citing articles on Scopus

    This paper was originally written for the Marshall Lectures, given at Cambridge University in 1985. I am very grateful to the Cambridge faculty for this honor, and also for the invitation's long lead time, which gave me the opportunity to think through a new topic with the stimulus of so distinguished an audience in prospect. Since then, versions of this lecture have been given as the David Horowitz Lectures in Israel, the W.A. Mackintosh Lecture at Queens University, the Carl Snyder Memorial Lecture at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Chung-Hua Lecture in Taipei, the Nancy Schwartz Lecture at Northwestern University, and the Lionel McKenzie Lecture at the University of Rochester. I have also based several seminars on various parts of this material.

    View full text