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Natural Selection and the Origin of Economic Growth

Author Info

Listed author(s):
  • Oded Galor
  • Omer Moav

Abstract

This research develops an evolutionary growth theory that captures the interplay between the evolution of mankind and economic growth since the emergence of the human species. The theory suggests that the struggle for survival that had characterized most of human existence generated an evolutionary advantage to human traits that were complementary to the growth process, triggering the takeoff from an epoch of stagnation to sustained economic growth. "It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change" [Charles Darwin].

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1162/003355302320935007
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Article provided by Oxford University Press in its journal The Quarterly Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 117 (2002)
Issue (Month): 4 ()
Pages: 1133-1191

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Handle: RePEc:oup:qjecon:v:117:y:2002:i:4:p:1133-1191.
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Find related papers by JEL classification:
  • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
  • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
  • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
  • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
  • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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Citations

Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Persistence in Economic Development
    by dvollrath in The Growth Economics Blog on 2014-05-12 16:51:12
  2. Did We Evolve the Capacity for Sustained Growth?
    by dvollrath in The Growth Economics Blog on 2015-03-30 18:30:34

RePEc Biblio mentions

As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
  1. > Economic History
  2. > Macroeconomics > Economic Growth
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