Increasing Returns and New Developments in the Theory of Growth

40 Pages Posted: 28 May 2004 Last revised: 21 Dec 2022

See all articles by Paul M. Romer

Paul M. Romer

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: September 1989

Abstract

From the beginning, growth theory has been faced with technically challenging questions about increasing returns and the way to capture ideas in a model of market exchange. Initially, reliance on perfect competition forced growth theory to narrow its scope. Recently, new tools for studying dynamic equilibria with nonconvexities, externalities, and imperfect competition have allowed growth theory to address broader questions like: Why have growth rates tended to increase over time? Why is it that flows of capital are not sufficient to equalize wages in different countries? How is it that trade policy, or aggregate research and development expenditure, or the extent of patent protection influences the rate of growth?

Suggested Citation

Romer, Paul M., Increasing Returns and New Developments in the Theory of Growth (September 1989). NBER Working Paper No. w3098, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=227464

Paul M. Romer (Contact Author)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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