Long-Run Growth and the Evolution of Technological Knowledge

Arbeitspapier

The long-run evolution of per-capita income exhibits a structural break often associated with the Industrial Revolution. We follow Mokyr (2002) and embed the idea that this structural break reflects a regime switch in the evolution of technological knowledge into a dynamic framework, using Airy differential equations to describe this evolution. We show that under a non-monotonous income-population equation, the economy evolves from a Malthusian to a Post-Malthusian Regime, with rising per-capita income and a growing population. The switch is brought about by an acceleration in the growth of technological knowledge. The demographic transition marks the switch into the Modern Growth Regime, with higher levels of per-capita income and declining population growth.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Discussion Paper Series ; No. 438

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts ; Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes ; Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General
• Subject: crisis Industrial Revolution ; Technological Change ; Malthus ; Demographic Transition ; Wirtschaftswachstum ; Industrialisierung ; Technischer Fortschritt ; Evolutionsökonomik ; Demographischer Übergang ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Hakenes, Hendrik ; Irmen, Andreas
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics
• (where): Heidelberg
• (when): 2007

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/127256
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET