Abstract
Recent empirical evidence demonstrates that a higher level of technical progress is associated with a lower level of growth volatility and higher expected economic growth. This paper builds a simple growth model which combines the insights of Angeletos and Kollintzas (2000) and Tse (2000; 2001; 2002) with endogenous productivity growth and rent-seeking behavior to account for these stylized facts. Our model complements the literature that focuses on the heterogeneity of different agents.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D. Acemoglu (1996) ArticleTitleA Microfoundation for Social Increasing Returns in Human Capital Accumulation Quarterly Journal of Economics 111 779–804 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2946672
D. Acemoglu (1997) ArticleTitleTraining and Innovation in an Imperfect Labor Market Review of Economic Studies 64 445–464 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2971723
D. Acemoglu (1998) ArticleTitleWhy Do New Technologies Complement Skills? Directed Technical Change and Wage Inequality Quarterly Journal of Economics 113 1055–1089 Occurrence Handle10.1162/003355398555838
D. Acemoglu S. Johnson J. Robinson (2001) ArticleTitleColonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation American Economic Review 91 1369–1401 Occurrence Handle10.1257/aer.91.5.1369
D. Acemoglu S. Johnson J. Robinson (2002) ArticleTitleReversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution Quarterly Journal of Economics 117 IssueID4 1231–1294 Occurrence Handle10.1162/003355302320935025
D. Acemoglu S. Johnson J. Robinson Y. Thaicharoen (2003) ArticleTitleInstitutional Causes, Macroeconomic Symptoms: Volatility, Crises and Growth Journal of Monetary Economics 50 49–123 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-3932(02)00208-8
D. Acemoglu T. Verdier (1998) ArticleTitleProperty Rights, Corruption and the Allocation of Talent: A General Equilibrium Approach Economic Journal 108 IssueID450 1381–1403 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1468-0297.00347
P. Aghion G. Saint-Paul (1998) ArticleTitleUncovering Some Casual Relationships Between Productivity Growth and the Structure of Economic Fluctuations: A Tentative Survey Labour 12 279–303 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1467-9914.00069
P. Aghion A. Banerjee (2005) Volatility and Growth Oxford University Press Oxford
Angeletos G.-M., Kollintzas T. (2000) “Rent Seeking/Corruption and Growth: A Simple Model”. CEPR Discussion Paper 2464.
D. Backus P. Kehoe T. Kehoe (1992) ArticleTitleIn Search of Scale Effects in Trade and Growth Journal of Economic Theory 58 377–409 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0022-0531(92)90060-U
R. Barro (2001) ArticleTitleHuman Capital and Growth American Economic Review 91 12–17 Occurrence Handle10.1257/aer.91.2.12
W. Baumol (1990) ArticleTitleEntrepreneurship: Productive, Unproductive, and Destructive Journal of Political Economy 98 893–921 Occurrence Handle10.1086/261712
M. Bils P. Klenow (2000) ArticleTitleDoes Schooling Cause Growth? American Economic Review 90 IssueID5 1160–1183 Occurrence Handle10.1257/aer.90.5.1160
K. Blackburn R. Galindev (2003) ArticleTitleGrowth, Volatility and Learning Economics Letters 79 417–421 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0165-1765(03)00025-9
J. M. Buchanan R. D. Tollison G. Tullock (Eds) (1980) Towards a Theory of the Rent-Seeking Society A&M University Press College Station, TX
P. Hek ParticleDe (1999) ArticleTitleOn Endogenous Growth Under Uncertainty International Economic Review 40 727–744 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1468-2354.00037
A. Drazen (2000) Political Economy in Macroeconomics Princeton University Press Princeton
W. Easterly R. King R. Levine S. Rebelo (1993) Policy, Technology Adoption and Growth R. Solow L. Pasinetti (Eds) Economic Growth and the Structure of Long Term Development International Economic Association New York
T. Eicher C. Garcia-Penalosa (2005) Institutions for Development and Growth MIT Press Cambridge
E. Hanushek F. Welch (2005) Handbook of Economics of Education North Holland/Elsevier New York
E. Hanushek D. Kimko (2000) ArticleTitleSchooling, Labor-Force Quality, and the Growth of Nations American Economic Review 90 1184–1208 Occurrence Handle10.1257/aer.90.5.1184
C. Jones J. Williams (1998) ArticleTitleMeasuring the Social Return to R&D Quarterly Journal of Economics 113 1119–1135 Occurrence Handle10.1162/003355398555856
C. Jones J. Williams (2000) ArticleTitleToo Much of a Good Thing? The Economics of Investment in R&D Journal of Economic Growth 5 65–85 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1009826304308
J. Kahn (1990) ArticleTitleMoral Hazard, Imperfect Risk-sharing, and the Behavior of Asset Returns Journal of Monetary Economics 24 27–44 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0304-3932(90)90030-8
P. Klenow A. Rodriguez-Clare (2004) Externality and Growth P. Aghion S. Durlauf (Eds) Handbook of Economic Growth North Holland Amsterdam
S. Knack P. Keefer (1995) ArticleTitleInstitutions and Economic Performance: Cross-country Tests Using Alternative Measures Economics and Politics 7 207–227
K.-S. Kwong L.-C. Chau F. Lui L. Qiu (2001) Industrial Development in Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea World Scientific Singapore
S.-H. P. Lau (1999) ArticleTitleI(0) In, Integration and Cointegration Out: Time Series Properties of Endogenous Growth Models Journal of Econometrics 93 1–24 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-4076(98)00096-7
C. K. Y. Leung (1995) ArticleTitleEducated Guesses and Income Distribution Economics Letters 48 173–177 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0165-1765(94)00600-7
C. K. Y. Leung (2001) ArticleTitleProductivity Growth, Increasing Income Inequality and Social Insurance: The Case of China? Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 46 395–408 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0167-2681(01)00163-9
C. K. Y. Leung D. T. Quah (1996) ArticleTitleConvergence, Endogenous Growth, and Productivity Disturbances Journal of Monetary Economics 38 535–547 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-3932(96)01288-3
L. Ljungqvist T. Sargent (2000) Recursive Macroeconomic Theory MIT Press Cambridge, MA
K. Murphy A. Shleifer R. Vishny (1991) ArticleTitleThe Allocation of Talent: Implications for Growth Quarterly Journal of Economics 106 IssueID2 503–530 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2937945
T. Persson G. Tabellini (2000) Political Economics: Explaining Economic Policy MIT Press Cambridge, MA
E. Prescott (2002) ArticleTitleRichard T. Ely Lecture: Prosperity and Depression American Economic Review 92 1–15 Occurrence Handle10.1257/000282802320188916
D. T. Quah (1996) ArticleTitleConvergence Empirics Across Economies with (Some) Capital Mobility Journal of Economic Growth 1 95–124 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00163344
D. T. Quah (1997) ArticleTitleEmpirics for Growth and Distribution: Stratification, Polarization, and Convergence Clubs Journal of Economic Growth 2 27–59 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1009781613339
G. Ramey V. Ramey (1995) ArticleTitleCross-country Evidence on the Links Between Volatility and Growth American Economic Review 85 1138–1151
S. Rebelo (1991) ArticleTitleLong run Policy Analysis and Long-run Growth Journal of Political Economy 99 500–521 Occurrence Handle10.1086/261764
Rebelo, S. (1998): “On the Determinants of Economic Growth.” In Contemporary Economic Issues: Proceedings of the 11th World Congress of the International Economic Association. London: Macmillan Press, pp. 138–56.
W. Rogerson (1985) ArticleTitleThe First-order Approach to Principal-agent Problems Econometrica 53 1357–1367 Occurrence Handle10.2307/1913212
J. Stock M. Watson (1999) Business Cycle Fluctuations in US Macroeconomic Time Series John Taylor Michael Woodford (Eds) Handbook of Macroeconomics, vol. 1A North-Holland New York 3–64
S. H. K. Tang (2002) ArticleTitleThe Link Between Growth Volatility and Technical Progress: Cross-country Evidence Economics Letters 77 335–341 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0165-1765(02)00145-3
Tang, S. H. K., Groenewold, N., and Leung, C. K. Y. (2003): “Institutions, Technical Change and Macroeconomic Volatility, Crises and Growth: A Robust Causation.” mimeo., Chinese University of Hong Kong.
C. Y. Tse (2000) ArticleTitleMonopoly, Human Capital Accumulation and Development Journal of Development Economics 61 IssueID1 137–174 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-3878(99)00064-4
C. Y. Tse (2001) ArticleTitleThe Distribution of Demand, Market Structure, and Investment in Technology Journal of Economics 73 IssueID3 275–297
C. Y. Tse (2002) ArticleTitleMonopoly, Employment and Wages Labour Economics 9 IssueID5 681–697 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0927-5371(02)00057-X
C. Y. Tse (2004) ArticleTitleSearch Frictions, Market Power, and Long-run Growth Journal of Economic Theory 116 IssueID2 323–346 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0022-0531(03)00260-6
G. Tullock (1993) Rent Seeking E. Elgar Brookfield
G. Tullock (2003) ArticleTitleThe Origin Rent-seeking Concept International Journal of Business and Economics 2 IssueID1 1–8
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leung, C.K.Y., Tang, S.H.K. & Groenewold, N. Growth Volatility and Technical Progress: A Simple Rent-seeking Model. J Econ 88, 159–178 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00712-005-0162-6
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00712-005-0162-6