Wants and Past Knowledge: Growth Cycles with Emerging Industries

Ryo Horii

No 06-03, Discussion Papers in Economics and Business from Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics

Abstract: This paper develops a theory of endogenous growth cycles focusing on the interaction between consumers f desire to satisfy an indefinite range of wants and firms f incentive to utilize knowledge from past production experiences. We show that firms endogenously form a number of distinguishable industries as accumulated knowledge induces them to agglomerate in the technology space. Knowledge accumulation in existing industries reduces production costs, but, as the diminishing returns from learning sets in, some firms start to adopt previously unexplored technologies so that their new goods fit consumers f unsatisfied wants and attract large demand. Thus, sporadic emergence of new industries generates growth cycles, where both the timing and the new technology to be adopted are endogenously determined. New industries based on new technology reduce the rate of per capita GDP growth in the initial phase, but nonetheless are indispensable for sustained economic growth in the long run.

Keywords: endogenous growth; technology choice; wants; knowledge; cycles. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O31 O33 O41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41 pages
Date: 2006-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-ino
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http://www2.econ.osaka-u.ac.jp/library/global/dp/0603.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Wants and past knowledge: Growth cycles with emerging industries (2012)
Working Paper: Wants and Past Knowledge: Growth Cycles with Emerging Industries (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osk:wpaper:0603

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