We start from the hypothesis that Goodwin's (1967) distributive cycle does not represent a process of social reproduction that can be considered as adequate and sustainable in the long-run, due to the degradation of a part of the workforce it implies during periods of mass unemployment. Against...

In this paper we analyze whether and how "research" and "development" subsidies influence private R&D activity. Our empirical results show that "research" subsidies stimulate R&D spending within firms while "development" subsidies substitute such spending. At the theoretical level we find...

The relationship between economic structure and productivity growth has been a subject of increasing interest over recent decades. The innovative focus of this paper concerns the role of the service sector in this relationship. Services play a core role in advanced economies, both from a...

Vulnerability to reduction of natural capital depends on defensive substitution possibilities that, in turn, are affected by the availability of other productive factors. However in several developing countries asset distribution tends to be highly skewed. Taking into account these elements,...

Technological change does not evolve in a purely normative economic way. Economic selection has a guiding impact on technology evolution, but the generic element of novelty does not necessarily follow economic utility. In general, market selection is predominant in economic thinking and it is...

We undertake an empirical study of the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry using evolutionary-economic concepts. Experts regard solar energy as a realistic option for sustainable energy provision in the long run. We identify the innovation and selection forces that drive the changes in the solar PV...

Previous work on this topic brought to light the possibility of a loss in income for the high-wage countries. Our two-country multicommodity Ricardo-Mill model extends this result to the n-good case but also shows the possibility of an offsetting income benefit, accruing to the high-wage...

This paper presents an explanation of the causes of the slowdown in growth in labour productivity in European economies in recent decades. In first instance, the weakness of domestic demand is what determines this slowdown in productivity. However, differences with the (mediocre) rates of growth...

This paper presents a structuralist North-South model on structural change, industrialization and economic convergence. In a balance-of-payments-constrained macro-setting, we assume a cumulative process between industrialization and growth. Differently from the traditional post-Keynesian models,...

Does technological change amount to accumulation of general, and so transferable, human capital? To approach this question I rely on a theoretical framework in which the "technology distance" between industries reduces inter-industry transferability of workers' skill. Empirically, I use US panel...