Post-War Economic Growth Revisited

by Gottfried Bombach

This book gives a retrospective look at growth during the post-war epoch and also dwells on the question of to what extent neo-classical growth theory helps one to understand and interpret what has occurred, and how future prospects appear. The decisive impact of the development of aggregate demand on growth is stressed, thereby touching on the crucial question of the neutrality of money in the long run. Nine alternative hypotheses are investigated in order to explain why capitalist countries had such success and why growth came to such a sudden end. In contrast to present day mainstream economics, attention is paid to the importance of demand, including the argument of export-led growth, failures of stabilization policy, and the slowdown of capital formation. A final chapter is devoted to the mystery' of the declining growth of labour productivity.

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985