This volume is mainly concerned with methods of estimating income elasticity. It is connected with economic development that can be achieved by reducing income inequality, a highly relevant subject in today’s world for a wide range of policy areas.
This volume is mainly concerned with methods of estimating income elasticity. It is connected with economic development that can be achieved by reducing income inequality, a highly relevant subject in today’s world for a wide range of policy areas.
This concise yet insightful sequel to the highly acclaimed The Nature of Economic Growth provides a comprehensive critique of both old and new growth theory, highlighting the importance of economic growth for reducing poverty. A.P. Thirlwall illustrates that orthodox growth theory continues to work with Ôone-goodÕ models and to treat factor supplies as exogenously given, independent of demand. Orthodox trade theory still ignores the balance of payments consequences of different patterns of trade specialisation when assessing the welfare effects of trade. The author goes on to present theory underpinned by up-to-date empirical evidence that factors of production and productivity growth are endogenous to demand, and that the structure of production and trade matter for the long-run growth performance of countries because of their impact on the balance of payments. He concludes that trade liberalisation has proved disappointing in improving the trade-off between growth and the balance of payments. This book will provide a challenging read for students and academics in the fields of economics, heterodox economics, and development. Policymakers focussing on the relationship between growth, trade and the balance of payments will also find the book to be of great interest.
This text charts development economics as it evolved from Adam Smith to new or endogenous growth theory. Thirlwall is critical of the latter & its predecessor neo-classical growth theory, & tries to put back demand as a driving force in growth theory.
We posit that the relationship between income inequality and economic growth is mediated by the level of equality of opportunity, which we identify with intergenerational mobility. In economies characterized by intergenerational rigidities, an increase in income inequality has persistent effects—for example by hindering human capital accumulation— thereby retarding future growth disproportionately. We use several recently developed internationally comparable measures of intergenerational mobility to confirm that the negative impact of income inequality on growth is higher the lower is intergenerational mobility. Our results suggest that omitting intergenerational mobility leads to misspecification, shedding light on why the empirical literature on income inequality and growth has been so inconclusive.