Endogenous Growth Theory [Hardcover]

Philippe Aghion (Author), Peter W. Howitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 1997

Advanced economies have experienced a tremendous increase in material well- being since the industrial revolution. Modern innovations such as personal computers, laser surgery, jet airplanes, and satellite communication have made us rich and transformed the way we live and work. But technological change has also brought with it a variety of social problems. It has been blamed at various times for increasing wage and income inequality, unemployment, obsolescence of physical and human capital, environmental deterioration, and prolonged recessions.To understand the contradictory effects of technological change on the economy, one must delve into structural details of the innovation process to analyze how laws, institutions, customs, and regulations affect peoples' incentive and ability to create new knowledge and profit from it. To show how this can be done, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt make use of Schumpeter's concept of creative destruction, the competitive process whereby entrepreneurs constantly seek new ideas that will render their rivals' ideas obsolete.Whereas other books on endogenous growth stress a particular aspect, such as trade or convergence, this book provides a comprehensive survey of the theoretical and empirical debates raised by modern growth theory. It develops a powerful engine of analysis that sheds light not only on economic growth per se, but on the many other phenomena that interact with growth, such as inequality, unemployment, capital accumulation, education, competition, natural resources, international trade, economic cycles, and public policy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Whereas other books on endogenous growth stress a particular aspect, such as trade or convergence, this book provides a comprehensive survey of the theoretical and empirical debates raised by modern growth theory.

About the Author

"Aghion and Howitt is a real breakthrough in growth economics. This bookhas profound implications and should be read by anyone who is serious aboutstudying economic growth" Nicholas Crafts , Department of Economic History, London School of Economics and Political Science

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 710 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (December 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262011662
• ISBN-13: 978-0262011662
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 6.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #707,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good theory, Poor presentation, January 10, 2002

By 

Toan Nguyen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endogenous Growth Theory (Hardcover)

To read this book effectively, you really need to have the articles that the authors cited in the book, especially their own articles.
The ideas from the book are excellent. However, the presentation of the is extremely bad. I am not saying for just myself. Many of my professors and my peers also agree.
The authors skipped a lot on the derivation of the equations without mentioning where they came from, or without even defining some terminologies. Sometime, you will get really frustrated.

I prefer to learn not just the ideas but also the technical foundations. Barro and Xala-i Martin's book on Growth is excellent in this. It is impossible to learn that in this book. Sorry, the book is a failure!!!
I talked to my friends in other schools in Cambridge. They were surprised because Aghion is supposed to be a very careful professor. I don't know. But I have attended a conference and seen how Howitt presented. It is a big, really big, conference, and the guy just wrote down those equations and calculations by hand. They are even not neat.
The exercises are interesting and helpful if you want to master the tricks. However, again, you need to read the articles that they used since many steps will be skipped carelessly.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not quite a textbook, June 14, 2003

By 

man (earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Endogenous Growth Theory (Hardcover)

This book is a treatise of the most recent works in endogenous growth theory, and so it may be inappropriate to be used as a textbook for a course. Although the exercises are explained, it seems that this book cannot be feasibly used for self-study because, as the reviewer below me pointed out, you need someone to fill in the gaps. Nevertheless, the authors do a great job in explaining the intuition behind the difficult technical papers that make up this book. I think this book would be useful for those masters/doctoral students who are preparing/writing their thesis. The explanations and the bibliography can guide them and enable them to get many ideas for their paper.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the principal books about the modern economic growth, April 24, 2001

By 

B. H. Cruz "hecb" (México, D.F.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Endogenous Growth Theory (Hardcover)

"Endogenous Growth Theory" by Philippe Aghion and Peter W. Howitt is one of the best book about economic growth theory who I've seen. This book together with "Advanced Macroeconomics" by David Romer and "Economic Growth" by Robert Barro and Xavier Sala-I-Martin are the principal books about all the modern economic growth theory. I recommend very much this book.