Encyclopedia of Law and Economics

Living Edition
| Editors: Alain Marciano, Giovanni Battista Ramello

Economic Growth

Living reference work entry
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_49-1
How to cite

Abstract

Considering its quantitative property, economic growth has often been considered an index of wealth. Nonetheless, it does not represent the well-being of a given country. In fact, it lacks information on how this wealth is redistributed or on the indirect effects of the said production, such as environmental consequences. Economic literature highlights the difference between economic growth and development, attributing to the latter a holistic definition, which takes into account additional factors, such as collective well-being, social equity, life expectancy, quality of institutions, and environmental quality. Although, at a first glance, the boundaries between concepts of growth and development may be considered as clearly distinguishable, they often tend to disappear when analyzing the two variables from a long-term perspective. In both economic theory and practice, there are several significant variables, such as the quality of human capital and institutions or environmental efficiency, which play a key role in the opportunities for development in most high-income countries. Within this framework, development becomes a fundamental feature of economic growth, when the latter is interpreted as a general improvement in quality of life, as opposed to a mere quantitative increment in production.

Keywords

Economic Growth Corporate Social Responsibility Social Capital Human Capital Public Sector 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgement

I thank Marco Bottone for helpful comment

References

  1. Acemoglu D (2008) Introduction to modern economic growth. Princeton University Press, PrincetonGoogle Scholar
  2. Aghion P, Howitt P (1992) A Model of Growth Through Creative Destruction. Econometrica 60(2): 323–351CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Aghion P, Howitt P (1998) Endogenous growth theory. MIT Press, Cambridge, MAGoogle Scholar
  4. Alfano MR, Baraldi AL (2012) Is there an optimal level of political competition in terms of economic growth? Evidence from Italy. Eur J Law Econ. doi:10.1007/s10657-012-9340-5Google Scholar
  5. Arrow KJ (1962) The economic implications of learning by doing. Rev Econ Stud 29:155–173CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Bardhan P (1997) Corruption and development: a review of issues. J Econ Lit XXXV:1320–1346Google Scholar
  7. Barro RJ (1990) Government spending in a simple model of endogenous growth. J Polit Econ 98(5):S103–S125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Barro RJ, Sala-i-Martin X (1992) Public finance in models of economic growth. Rev Econ Stud 59(4):645–661CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Barro RJ, Sala-i-Martin X (1997) Technological diffusion, convergence, and growth. J Econ Growth 2(1):1–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Barro RJ, Sala-i-Martin X (2004) Economic growth, 2nd edn. MIT Press, Cambridge, MAGoogle Scholar
  11. Baumol WJ (1986) Productivity growth, convergence, and welfare: what the long-run data show. Am Econ Rev 76(5):1072–1085Google Scholar
  12. Cass D (1965) Optimum growth in an aggregative model of capital accumulation. Rev Econ Stud 32(3):233–240CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Cobb CW, Douglas PH (1928) A theory of production. Am Econ Assoc (Suppl) 18(1):139–165Google Scholar
  14. Coleman JS (1990) Foundations of social theory. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MAGoogle Scholar
  15. de la Fuente A (2000) Convergence across countries and regions: theory and empirics. EIB Pap 5(2):25–45Google Scholar
  16. Del Monte A, Papagni E (2007) The determinants of corruption in Italy: regional panel data analysis. Eur J Polit Econ 23(2):379–396CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Domar ED (1946) Capital expansion, rate of growth, and employment. Econometrica 14(2):137–147CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Evans P (1995) Embedded autonomy. Princeton University Press, PrincetonGoogle Scholar
  19. Fukuyama F (1995) Trust: the social virtues and the creation of prosperity. Free Press, New YorkGoogle Scholar
  20. Grossman GM, Helpman E (1991) Innovation and growth in the global economy. MIT Press, Cambridge, MAGoogle Scholar
  21. Harrod RF (1939) An essay in dynamic theory. Econ J 49(193):14–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Harrod RF (1942) Toward a dynamic economics: some recent developments of economic theory and their application to policy. Macmillan, LondonGoogle Scholar
  23. Huntington SP (1968) Political order in changing societies. Yale University Press, New HavenGoogle Scholar
  24. Knight FH (1944) Diminishing returns from investment. J Polit Econ 52(3):26–47CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Koopmans TC (1965) On the concept of optimal economic growth. In: McNally R (ed) The econometric approach to development planning. North Holland, AmsterdamGoogle Scholar
  26. Leff N (1964) Economic development through bureaucratic corruption. Am Behav Sci 8(3):8–14CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Leontief WW (1941) The structure of the American economy, 1919–1929. Harvard University Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
  28. Lucas RE (1988) On the mechanics of economic development. J Monetary Econ 22:3–42CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Malthus TR (1798) An essay on the principle of population. W. Pickering, London, 1986Google Scholar
  30. Mauro P (1995) Corruption and growth. Q J Econ 110(3):681–712CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Mauro P (1998) Corruption and the composition of government expenditure. J Public Econ 69(2):263–279CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. McMullan M (1961) Theory of corruption. Sociol Rev 9(2):181–201CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. North DC (1990) Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press, CambridgeCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Powell BG (2004) The chain of responsiveness. J Democracy 15(4):91–105CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Putnam R (1993) Making democracy work: civic tradition in modern Italy. Princeton University Press, PrincetonGoogle Scholar
  36. Ramsey F (1928) A mathematical theory of saving. Econ J 38(152):543–559CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Rebelo S (1991) Long-run policy analysis and long-run growth. J Polit Econ 99(3):500–521CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Ricardo D (1817) On the principles of political economy and taxation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1951Google Scholar
  39. Romer PM (1986) Increasing returns and long-run growth. J Polit Econ 94(5):1002–1037CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Romer PM (1994) The origins of endogenous growth. J Econ Perspect 8(1):3–22CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Samuelson PA (1954) The pure theory of public expenditure. Rev Econ Stat 36(4):387–389CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Schumpeter JA (1934) The theory of economic development. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MAGoogle Scholar
  43. Sen A (1999) Development as freedom. Oxford University Press, OxfordGoogle Scholar
  44. Sheshinski E (1967) Optimal accumulation with learning by doing. In: Shell K (ed) Essays on the theory of optimal economic growth. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 31–52Google Scholar
  45. Smith A (1776) An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. Random House, New York, 1937Google Scholar
  46. Solow RM (1956) A contribution to the theory of economic growth. Q J Econ 70(1):65–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Solow RM (1957) Technical change and the aggregate production function. Rev Econ Stat 39(3):312–320CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Swan TW (1956) Economic growth and capital accumulation. Econ Rec 32(2):334–361CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Tanzi V, Dawoodi H (1997) Corruption, public investment and growth. IMF, working paper 97/139Google Scholar
  50. Uzawa H (1965) Optimal technical change in an aggregative model of economic growth. Int Econ Rev 6(1):18–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Young A (1928) Increasing returns and economic progress. Econ J 38(152):527–542CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Economics DepartmentSeconda Università degli Studi di NapoliNapoliItaly