Economic Growth
Jeffrey Parker, Reed College
Fall Semester, 2011
Reading List
Because this is an extremely small class, we may tailor the topical coverage to the interests of the students enrolled. The following readings cover the basics of economic growth. We may add material to some sections (or remove some) depending on student interest.
I. Economic Growth: Defining the Issues
- Barro, Robert J., and Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Economic Growth, 2nd ed., Introduction.
- Jones, Charles I, and Paul M. Romer, "The New Kaldor Facts: Ideas, Institutions, Population, and Human Capital," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 2(1), 224-245, January 2010.
II. Neoclassical Growth Theory
- Barro and Sala-i-Martin, Chapters 1 through 3.
III. Endogenous Growth Models with Consumer Maximization
- Barro and Sala-i-Martin, Chapters 4 and 5.
IV. Modeling Technological Progress
- Barro and Sala-i-Martin, Chapters 6 through 8.
V. Selected Recent Models
A. "Unified Growth Theory"
- Parente, Stephen L., and Edward C. Prescott, "A Unified Theory of the Evolution of International Income Levels," Chapter 21 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1B, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
- Galor, Oded, "From Stagnation to Growth: A Unified Growth Theory," Chapter 4 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
B. General-Purpose Technologies
- Jovanovic, Boyan, and Peter L. Rousseau, "General Purpose Technologies," Chapter 18 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1B, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
- Helpman, Elhanan, and Manuel Trajtenberg, "A Time to Sow and a Time to Reap: Growth Based on General Purpose Technologies," in E. Helpman, ed., General Purpose Technologies and Economic Growth, (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998), Chapter 3.
C. Models Focusing on Institutions and Policies
- Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, "Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth," Chapter 6 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
- Easterly, William, "National Policies and Economic Growth: A Reappraisal," Chapter 15 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
- Rodrik, Dani, "Growth Strategies," Chapter 14 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
D. Non-Economic Objectives
- Jones, Charles I., "Life and Growth," Cambridge, Mass: National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 17094, May 2011.
- Depending on student interest and available time, possible selections from Chapters 22-27 of Volume 1B of the Handbook of Economic Growth.
VI. Empirical Studies of Growth
- Durlauf, Steven N., Paul A. Johnson, and Jonathan R. W. Temple, "Growth Econometrics," Chapter 8 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
A. Growth Accounting
- Barro and Sala-i-Martin, Chapter 10.
- Maddison, Angus, Dynamic Forces in Capitalist Development: A Long-Run Comparative View, Chapter 3.
- Jorgenson, Dale W., "Accounting for Growth in the Information Age," Chapter 10 in P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, eds. Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol 1A, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
B. Convergence or Divergence
- Barro and Sala-i-Martin, Chapter 11.
- Pritchett, Lant, "Divergence, Big Time," Journal of Economic Perspectives 11(3), Summer 1997, 3-17.
- Bernard, Andrew B., and Steven N. Durlauf, "Convergence in International Output," Journal of Applied Econometrics 10(2), 1996, 97-108.
- Quah, Danny, "Convergence Empirics across Economies with (Some) Capital Mobility," Journal of Economic Growth 1(1), March 1996, 95-124.
- Comin, Diego, William Easterly, and Erick Gong, "Was the Wealth of Nations Determined in 1000 BC?" American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics 2(3) 65-97, July 2010.
C. Cross Country Income/Growth Differences and Other Empirical Studies
- Barro and Sala-i-Martin, Chapter 12.
- Caselli, Francesco, "Accounting for Cross-Country Income Differences," Chapter 9 in Handbook of Economic Growth, Volume 1A, ed. by P. Aghion and S. Durlauf, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 2005.
- Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson, "Reversal of Fortune: Geography and Institutions in the Making of the Modern World Income Distribution," Quarterly Journal of Economics 117(4), November 2002, 1231-94.
- Kremer, Michael, "Population Growth and Technological Change: One Million B.C. to 1990," Quarterly Journal of Economics 108(3), August 1993, 681-716.
- Young, Alwyn, "A Tale of Two Cities: Factor Accumulation and Technical Change in Hong Kong and Singapore," NBER Macroeconomics Annual 7, 1992, 13-63.
- Klenow, Peter J., "Ideas versus Rival Human Capital: Industry Evidence on Growth Models," Journal of Monetary Economics 42(1), August 1998, 3-23. (No electronic access.)
- Acemoglu, Daron, and Simon Johnson, "Disease and Development: The Effect of Life Expectancy on Economic Growth," Journal of Political Economy 115(6), 925-985, December 2007.
- Michalopoulos, Stelios, and Elias Papaioannou, "Divide and Rule or the Rule of the Divided? Evidence from Africa," Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER Working Papers, No. 17184, June 2011.
- Bertocchi, Graziella, "Growth, Colonization, and Institutional Development: In and Out of Africa," London: Centre for Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper No. 8486, July 2011.
- Ashraf, Quamrul, and Oded Galor, "The 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis, Human Genetic Diversity, and Comparative Economic Development," Cambridge: Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 17216, July 2011.