Economic Growth re-emerged as an exciting field when New Growth Theories (NGT) challenged the Neoclassical Growth Theory (NCGT) in the 1980s. The author played an important role in the ensuing debate by pioneering the use of panel econometric methods to growth empirics, revealing in the process huge productivity differences across countries.
This volume presents a collection of articles illustrating the above process, beginning with the QJE article, “Growth Empirics: A Panel Data Approach” (1995) that has now become a classic. Following the growth debate-focused articles, the volume presents articles studying productivity differences, culminating in a multi-causal empirical model of Total Factor Productivity (TFP). The final articles of the volume discuss the relevance of the growth debate for developing countries, in general, and Bangladesh, in particular.
The introductory chapter brings the articles together by tracing the connections among them and also makes the volume intelligible to non-specialized readers. The book can therefore be useful not only for academics and students interested in growth theory but also for policymakers and general readers