Genuine Savings in developing and developed countries, 1900-2000

Matthias Blum, Cristián Ducoing and Eoin McLaughlin

Discussion Papers in Environment and Development Economics from University of St. Andrews, School of Geography and Sustainable Development

Abstract: This paper traces the long-run development of Genuine Savings (GS) using a panel of eleven countries during the twentieth century. This panel covers a number of developed countries (Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, France, the US, and Australia) as well as a set of resource-abundant countries in Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico). These countries represent approximately 50 percent of the world’s output in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 1950, and include large economies and small open economies, and resource-rich and resource-scarce countries, thus allowing us to compare their historical experiences. Components of GS considered include physical and human capital as well as resource extraction and pollution damages. Generally, we find evidence of positive GS over the course of the twentieth century, although the twoWorldWars and the Great Depression left considerable marks. Also, we found striking differences between Latin American and developed countries when Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is included; this could be a signal of natural resource curse or technological gaps unnoticed in previous works.

Keywords: Genuine Savings; Developed countries Latin America; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E21 E22 N50 Q00 Q01 Q20 Q30 Q50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2016-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-mac
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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