| Abstract: | Estimates of growth rates of real output per head in variouscountries are presented and it is concluded that divergencehas been more common than catch-up in the twentieth century.Trends in the Human Development Index are reported and theseoffer a more encouraging picture of the relative performanceof poor countries. Key issues in growth economics are reviewedagainst the background of the long-run evidence; these includethe plausibility of innovation-based theories of endogenousgrowth, the reasons for the commonplace failure of fast-growingcountries to sustain their growth, and the impact of technologicalrevolutions on productivity growth. |
