This paper reconciles the recent vs. very long-run evidence on scale effects in endogenous growth models by extending Howitt's (1999) model to include a subsistence constraint in consumption. Scale effects will be present only when this constraint is binding.

This paper argues that some governments adopt growth-reducing policies due to the rational self-interest of the political elites. The model takes a rent-seeking government that can block innovation and incorporates it into a Schumpeterian growth model. The quality of a country's institutions is...

This paper presents a simple model of growth over the very long run that distinguishes between scientific knowledge and technology. Making this distinction highlights the importance of the scientific revolution to the emergence of modern sustained economic growth.

Political competition between European countries has been viewed as being a stimulus to the innovation process and part of the reason why Europe was the first region of the world to experience sustained growth. Countries that fell behind their rivals technologically and economically became more...

The growth experiences of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Korea over the last several decades have been polar opposites. Despite this divergence in economic outcomes, the two countries shared some initial similarities including very low income, high population growth rates, harsh...

The literature on income inequality has provided various explanations as to how income inequality can affect growth, with the emphasis on ideas such as investments in human capital, issues of occupational choice, or the redistributive policies of governments. Inequality not only has a direct...

This paper provides an empirical study of the determinants of voting equipment choice in the United States. We document that, in contrast to widespread belief, voting machines of older types, such as lever and punchcard systems, are not used in counties with lower income – and newer machines,...

In September 1997, at its Hong Kong meeting, the Interim Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) adopted a statement on the liberalization of international capital movements. It asked the executive boeard of the Fund to complete work on an amendment to the IMF's Articles of Agreement...