Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy
Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy, edited by Dora L. Costa and Naomi R. Lamoreaux, is available this fall. The price of this NBER Conference Report is $110.00.
The conditions for sustainable growth and development are among the most debated topics in economics, and the consensus is that institutions matter greatly in explaining why some economies are more successful than others over time. Probing the long-term effects of early colonial differences on immigration policy, land distribution, and financial development in a variety of settings, this volume explores the relationship between economic conditions, growth, and inequality, with a focus on how the use of resources by the political elite may limit incentives for others to invest in human capital or technological discovery. Among the topics discussed in this book are the development of credit markets in France, the evolution of transportation companies in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the organization of innovation in the United States.
Costa is Director of the NBER's Cohort Studies Working Group, a professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and associate director of the California Population Research Center. Lamoreaux is a Research Associate in the NBER's Program on the Development of the American Economy and a Professor of Economics and History at Yale University.