Solow (1956) as a model of cross-country growth dynamics

Karl Whelan () and Kieran McQuinn

Open Access publications from School of Economics, University College Dublin

Abstract: Despite the widespread popularity of the Solow growth model, much of the recent empirical work based on the classic framework misrepresents a crucial feature of the model. Namely, the growth rate of technological progress, assumed to be exogenous in the Solow model, is often identified as being constant across countries. This simplification of the behaviour of technological progress runs counter to the evidence and has had a number of significant implications for the interpretation of the Solow model. One implication has been an overemphasis on the role of factor accumulation in explaining cross-country income differentials. In addition, the commonly-cited empirical result that the speed of conditional convergence is slower than predicted by the Solow model is a function of this inaccurate assumption about technology rather than due to a failure of the model itself.

Keywords: Solow growth model; Convergence (Economics); Industrial productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-02
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10197/234 Open Access version, 2007 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Solow ( 1956 ) as a model of cross-country growth dynamics (2007)
Working Paper: Solow (1956) as a Model of Cross-Country Growth Dynamics (2007)
Working Paper: Solow (1956) as a Model of Cross-Country Growth Dynamics (2007)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucn:oapubs:10197/234

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Open Access publications from School of Economics, University College Dublin Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Nicolas Clifton ().