Economic Growth, Second Edition

By Robert J. Barro, Xavier Sala i Martín, Xavier Barro Robert J.; Sala-I-Martin

Book Overview

The long-awaited second edition of an important textbook on economic growth--a major revision incorporating the most recent work on the subject.

This graduate level text on economic growth surveys neoclassical and more recent growth theories, stressing their empirical implications and the relation of theory to data and evidence. The authors have undertaken a major revision for the long-awaited second edition of this widely used text, the first modern textbook devoted to growth theory. The book has been expanded in many areas and incorporates the latest research. After an introductory discussion of economic growth, the book examines neoclassical growth theories, from Solow-Swan in the 1950s and Cass-Koopmans in the 1960s to more recent refinements; this is followed by a discussion of extensions to the model, with expanded treatment in this edition of heterogenity of households. The book then turns to endogenous growth theory, discussing, among other topics, models of endogenous technological progress (with an expanded discussion in this edition of the role of outside competition in the growth process), technological diffusion, and an endogenous determination of labor supply and population. The authors then explain the essentials of growth accounting and apply this framework to endogenous growth models. The final chapters cover empirical analysis of regions and empirical evidence on economic growth for a broad panel of countries from 1960 to 2000. The updated treatment of cross-country growth regressions for this edition uses the new Summers-Heston data set on world income distribution compiled through 2000.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262025531
• ISBN13: 9780262025539
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 672 Pages
• Weight: 2.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.9" x 9.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent book for economic growth!

Economic Growth, by Sala-i-Martin anb Barro, has already become a classic. I can't think of anything better on the subject. Excellent book and carefully written!

Economic Growth is just Super!

Prior to having used this book, Macroeconomics was the bain of my life. A short sweater wearing Frenchman assigned it as the set text of his course and everything changed. The models are clear, lucid and stimulating. The exposition is first rate and the mix of theory with empirics is frankly breathtaking.I used to turn up 20 minutes late to macro lectures out of fear, now I wake up early asking myself "How can I make Peru grow faster". Is Economic Growth dull? Now, not so much as not at all...

Excelent Book

This is an excelent book that covers very well "the old and new" Growth Theory". However it is a very hard book and be prepared to use everything you know about math and economics. Perfect book for graduation courses in growth theory. My only suggestion is to include a chapter about the efect of institutions on the economies.

Wonderful!

This book is obviously the product of two great teachers! Everything is very clearly explained. There are some very nice details about conditional convergence across the US states. If you're looking to augement your economics knowledge after taking an intermediate macroeconomics class, short of actually taking one of these author's classes, this would definitely be the way.

Augment your economics knowledge!

You cannot avoid reading this book if you are going to do any advance undergraduate economics courses...... Well, not really, but if you read through chapters 1 to 5 and take time to workout the equations, you will surely find your knowledge in economics augment quite a bit: as long as you do not enrol into a PhD course, equations in economics texts can no longer unnerve you. Furthermore, according to my lecturer, this is the only introductory text on growth theory which covers New Growth Theory (chapter 6), i.e. models with imperfect competition and innovation .An evidence of this book's popularity: I saw a big pile of them in Blackwell's in Oxford (biggest bookstore in Britain)