The Practice Of Economic Growth

The importance of fast economic growth in developing countries has been an undeniable fact since the early 1970s. Today its significance is even greater as these emerging centres are eagerly sought as bases for economic expansion by developed nations. Singapore, in its rise from a struggling colony to its present status as an economic success, offers a glimpse of the factors that contribute to the growth of a thriving economy. Widely acknowledged as the architect of Singapore's economic growth, Dr Goh Keng Swee describes Singapore's experience, which confirms some of the conventional wisdom of growth theory but refutes much of the rest. Examining the social and economic lessons learnt by Singapore, Dr Goh notes that the role of the government and non-economic factors are pivotal to the development of a secure, confident nation. Speaking not as a theoretician, but as a practitioner, Dr Goh assesses how far theories conform with practice in the real world. This book is a collection of Dr Goh's essays during his years as Singapore's Minister of Defence. Besides his speeches on defence, Dr Goh explores sociological and economic issues extensively. These essays illustrate how the experienced practitioner, by venturing beyond the well-trodden paths and overcoming seemingly intractable problems, had helped Singapore achieve the benefits of economic growth and, thereby, a true national unity. This re-issue is part of the Singapore Economics History Collection and features a new Foreword by Professor Chua Beng Huat of National University of Singapore.

Examining empirical evidence such as how rich are the rich countries, how poor are the poor, and how fast do rich and poor countries grow, noted economist Charles Jones presents major theories of economic growth, from the Nobel Prize-winning work of Robert Solow to new growth theory that has ignited the field in recent years.

This second edition of Development Economics: Theory and Practice continues to provide students and practitioners with the perspectives and tools they need to think analytically and critically about the current major economic development issues in the world. Alain de Janvry and Elisabeth Sadoulet identify seven key dimensions of development—growth, poverty, vulnerability, inequality, basic needs, sustainability, and quality of life—and use them to structure the contents of the text. The book gives a historical perspective on the evolution of thought in development. It uses theory and empirical analysis to present readers with a full picture of how development works, how its successes and failures can be assessed, and how alternatives can be introduced. The authors demonstrate how diagnostics, design of programs and policies, and impact evaluation can be used to seek new solutions to the suffering and violence caused by development failures. In the second edition, more attention has been given to ongoing developments, such as: pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals continuously rising global and national inequality health as a domestic and international public good cash transfers for social protection carbon trading for sustainability This text is fully engaged with the most cutting-edge research in the field and equips readers with analytical tools for impact evaluation of development programs and policies, illustrated with numerous examples. It is underpinned throughout by a wealth of student-friendly features, including case studies, quantitative problem sets, end-of-chapter questions, and extensive references. Excel and Stata exercises are available as digital supplements for students and instructors. This unique text is ideal for those taking courses in development economics, economic growth, and development policy, and will provide an excellent foundation for those wishing to pursue careers in development.

The book describes the practical process of economic growth both in developed and less developed countries, and presents a unified theory of growth from the earliest stages to the most advanced. Central to the theory is the structural transformation which is associated with the growth process. This structural transformation is used to explain the logistic pattern that economic growth has followed in the real world. Within this logistic pattern, growth performance is explained both in terms of supply factors and demand factors, and the interaction between them. The influence of inflation and income distribution on economic growth is also discussed.

Foreword by President George W. Bush With contributions from world renowned economists and Nobel prizewinners, The 4% Solution is a blueprint for restoring America’s economic health The United States is reaching a pivotal point in its economic history. Millions of Americans owe more on their homes than they are worth, long-term unemployment is alarmingly high, and the Congressional Budget Office is projecting a sustainable growth rate of only 2.3%—a full percentage point below the average for the past sixty years. Unless a turnaround comes quickly, the United States could be mired in debt for years to come and millions of Americans will be pushed to the sidelines of the economy. The 4% Solution offers clear and unflinching ideas on how to revive America’s economy. It sets a positive economic goal and asks some of the top economic minds on how to achieve it. With a focus on removing government constraints, The 4% Solution defines the policies that will allow Americans to save, invest, and create the jobs that the United States needs. The 4% Solution draws on the best minds in the business, including five Nobel laureates: · Robert E. Lucas, Jr., on the history and future of economic growth · Gary S. Becker on why we need immigrants in order to grow · Edward Prescott on the cost (to growth) of the welfare state · Vernon Smith on why housing leads us into and out of recessions · Myron Scholes on why we need to innovate in order to grow the economy

It gives me great pleasure to review this important book. I recommend it highly to any physicist with an interest or curiosity about this economy thing within which we operate. . . There is no excuse not to get this invaluable volume onto your bookshelf. Simon Roberts, Institute of Physics Energy Group This book addresses a very important topic, namely economic growth analysis from the angle of energy and material flows. The treatment is well balanced in terms of research and interpretation of the broader literature. The book not only contains a variety of empirical indicators, statistical analyses and insights, but also offers an unusually complete and pluralistic view on theorizing about economic growth and technological change. This results in a number of refreshing perspectives on known ideas and literatures. The text is so attractively written that I found it very difficult to stop reading. All in all, this is a very original and important contribution to the everlasting debate on growth versus environment. Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, University of Barcelona, Spain and Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Would you want your great-grandchildren in 2100AD to have a 22nd-century industrial economy? If so, read this book to grasp how strongly wealth depends on energy and its efficient use. Start treating fossil energy not as continuing income, but as one-time energy capital to spend on efficiency and long-term sustainable energy production. Otherwise, your descendants will inherit a broken 20th-century economy that only worked with cheap fossil fuels. They will not be rich and they will wonder what their ancestors were thinking. John R. Mashey, PhD, former Chief Scientist, Silicon Graphics Current economic theory attributes most income growth to technical progress. However, since technical progress can neither be defined nor measured, no one really knows what policies will encourage income growth. Ayres and Warr show that access to useful work, which can be defined and measured, explain the bulk of post-1900 income changes in Japan, Britain and the USA. They see rising real prices for fossil fuel and stagnating efficiencies of converting raw energy into useful work as a threat to continued income growth. This brilliant and original work has profound policy implications for future income growth without significant improvements in energy conversion efficiency. Thomas Casten, Chairman, Recycled Energy Development LLC Following the up-and-down energy shock of 2008, Ayres and Warr offer a unique analysis critical to our economic future. They argue that useful work produced by energy and energy services is far more important to overall GDP growth than conventional economic theory assumes. Their new theory, based on extensive empirical and theoretical analysis, has important implications for economists, businessmen and policymakers for anybody concerned with our economic future. Ayres and Warr argue persuasively that economic growth is not only endogenous but has been driven for the past two centuries largely by the declining effective cost of energy. If their new theory is correct, the inevitable future rise of the real cost of energy (beyond the $147 oil price peak in July 2008), could halt economic growth in the US and other advanced countries unless we dramatically improve energy with technology. J. Paul Horne, independent international market economist The historic link between output (GDP) growth and employment has weakened. Since there is no quantitively verifiable economic theory to explain past growth, this unique book explores the fundamental relationship between thermodynamics (physical work) and economics. The authors take a realistic approach to explaining the relationship between technological progress, thermodynamic efficiency and economic growth. Their findings are a step toward the integration of neo-classical and evolutionary perspectives on endogenous economic growth, concluding in a fundam

Kevin Watkins analyses the manner in which the economies of East Asia have attained high economic growth rates and managed to share the prosperity widely. A caveat is included as some groups have been excluded from these benefits on ethnic grounds.

Singapore is recognised to be one of the most successful economies in the world given its rapid economic and social transformation. Its success is the result of a judicious blend of markets and government, high-quality governance, and public policies that are coherent, consistent and coordinated.This book showcases the contribution of Economics to Singapore's public policymaking. To illustrate the diverse areas that economic analysis has contributed to, this book comprises three sections that span the economic and non-economic policy domains in Singapore. Section I covers economic policies relating to economic growth, trade, investments, productivity, innovation, industrial development, the enterprise landscape and manpower. Section II highlights socioeconomic and security policies, and covers themes such as income inequality and mobility, families, healthcare costs and crime. In Section III, the focus is on infrastructural policies relating to the environment, housing and land transport.This book commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Singapore Government's Economist Service. As the premier service for economists in the Singapore public sector, the Economist Service plays an integral role in supporting evidence-based policymaking through rigorous economic research and analysis of public policies.

For most of the vast span of human history, economic growth was all but nonexistent. Then, about two centuries ago, some nations began to emerge from this epoch of economic stagnation, experiencing sustained economic growth that led to significant increases in standards of living and profoundly altered the level and distribution of wealth, population, education, and health across the globe. The question ever since has been--why? This is the first book to put forward a unified theory of economic growth that accounts for the entire growth process, from the dawn of civilization to today. Oded Galor, who founded the field of unified growth theory, identifies the historical and prehistorical forces behind the differential transition timing from stagnation to growth and the emergence of income disparity around the world. Galor shows how the interaction between technological progress and population ultimately raised the importance of education in coping with the rapidly changing technological environment, brought about significant reduction in fertility rates, and enabled some economies to devote greater resources toward a steady increase in per capita income, paving the way for sustained economic growth. Presents a unified theory of economic growth from the dawn of civilization to today Explains the worldwide disparities in living standards and population we see today Provides a comprehensive overview of the three phases of the development process Analyzes the Malthusian theory and its empirical support Examines theories of demographic transition and their empirical significance Explores the interaction between economic development and human evolution

Today, the average person in the world lives a more comfortable life compared to the richest people in the last century and, in fact, their life is more comfortable than even the kings of the previous centuries. We owe this situation first and foremost to the high growth rates that gained momentum after the industrial revolution. Although high welfare level is not dependent upon economic growth alone, it is a prerequisite for welfare. Nobody craves equality in poverty. In this book, in addition to the theoretical development of economic growth, the sources and potential effects of economic growth have been analysed using various methods. As such, it will serve as an essential reference work for researchers and policy makers.