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Cornucopia: The Pace of Economic Growth in the Twentieth Century

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  • J. Bradford DeLong

Abstract

There is one central fact about the economic history of the twentieth century: above all, the century just past has been the century of increasing material wealth and economic productivity. No previous era and no previous economy has seen material wealth and productive potential grow at such a pace. The bulk of America's population today achieves standards of material comfort and capabilities that were beyond the reach of even the richest of previous centuries. Even lower middle-class households in relatively poor countries have today material standards of living that would make them, in many respects, the envy of the powerful and lordly of past centuries.

Suggested Citation

  • J. Bradford DeLong, 2000. "Cornucopia: The Pace of Economic Growth in the Twentieth Century," NBER Working Papers 7602, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:7602
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    Cited by:

    1. Hickson, Kerry Jane, 2009. "The contribution of increased life expectancy to economic development in twentieth century Japan," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 489-504, September.
    2. Nicholas Crafts, 2012. "Economic History Matters," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(S1), pages 3-15.
    3. Hickson, Kerry, 2012. "The Untold Standards of Living Story: The GDP value of Twentieth Century Health Improvements in Developed Economies," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 105, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    4. Arthur M. Diamond, Jr., 2006. "Schumpeter's Creative Destruction: A Review of the Evidence," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 22(Fall 2006), pages 120-146.
    5. Everard, Mark & Reed, Mark S. & Kenter, Jasper O., 2016. "The ripple effect: Institutionalising pro-environmental values to shift societal norms and behaviours," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 21(PB), pages 230-240.
    6. Bakker, Gerben, 2004. "At the origins of increased productivity growth in services. Productivity, social savings and the consumer surplus of the film industry, 1900-1938," Economic History Working Papers 22348, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    7. Kerry Hickson, 2014. "The GDP Value of Twentieth-Century Health Improvements in Developed Economies: Initial Estimates for England," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(2), pages 385-399, June.
    8. Arthur Diamond, 2009. "Fixing ideas: how research is constrained by mandated formalism," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 191-206.
    9. Jose Luis Cordeiro, 2013. "Energy Singularity: From Scarcity to Abundance," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 72-80.
    10. Jamison, Dean T. & Murphy, Shane M. & Sandbu, Martin E., 2016. "Why has under-5 mortality decreased at such different rates in different countries?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 16-25.

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