Journal Article

What determines economic growth?

Abstract: Does increased investment in education enhance long-run economic growth, or does it simply reduce current consumption? Will free trade stimulate growth, or will it merely increase imports? ; For a long time, economists relied on an economic growth theory that offered little scope for understanding long-run growth movements. Recently, however, the study of economic growth has been reinvigorated by new developments in theory and empirical findings that suggest how long-run growth evolves. ; Because economic growth determines whether our grandchildren will have better lives than ours or whether poor nations will catch up with or fall further behind rich nations, David Gould and Roy Ruffin investigate recent lessons learned about growth and apply them to the above issues. Gould and Ruffin report on recent research suggesting that investment, particularly human capital investment, increases economic growth. They also investigate evidence showing that political stability, well-defined property rights, low trade barriers, and low government consumption expenditures enhance growth through positive effects on investment.

Keywords: Economic development; Human capital;

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Part of Series: Economic and Financial Policy Review

Publication Date: 1993

Issue: Apr

Pages: 25-40