A Unified Analytical Framework for Classical Theories of Economic Growth

This article develops a discrete-time model of economic growth inspired by classical thought, which unifies within a single formal framework the fundamental insights of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Thomas Robert Malthus. On the analytical level, the model allows for: (i) deriving a compact relationship between the output growth rate and the effective net profit rate, as well as an economic relevance condition that precludes degenerate trajectories; (ii) characterizing the distribution of income between profits and rents as a function of technological parameters (labor productivity, land–labor ratio, unit rent), highlighting the role of the reinvested profit share; (iii) specifying three variants—Smithian, Ricardian, and Malthusian— obtained solely by modifying the rule governing labor productivity formation and/or population dynamics. The model provides a unified formal framework to represent and compare the three main classical perspectives on growth, elucidating the connection between intertemporal dynamics and income distribution through a tool suitable for both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation.