Advanced Topics in Economic Growth

Prof. Theo Eicher - January 28-30 2004

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Economic growth is central to the study of economics. What determines whether future generations share increasing standards of living? Why is Britain richer than Burma? Why do lifetime incomes of observationally equivalent workers differ dramatically? Can governments undertake simple policies to double the average income in ten to twenty-five years? The answers to such questions require an understanding of the basic mechanics of economic growth. The consequences for human welfare are staggering.

This course in "Advanced Topics in Economic Growth" held by Prof. Theo Eicher (Washington University), January 28th-30th 2004, takes an in-depth look at various topics addressed by economic growth theory. These lectures provide (1) a brief survey of the historical development in Growth Theory, (2) a brief critique of the New Growth Theory, (3) an in-depth explanation empirically consistent models of growth, and (4) a look ahead. The emphasis is on intuition of the mechanics, and all results are derived from detailed theoretical models. Mastery of dynamic optimization is a prerequisite.