Are international growth rates constrained by the balance of payments? A comment on Professor Thirlwall

Abstract

In a recent article A.P. Thirlwall derived what he termed a “fundamental law” which he argued explains the disparate post-war growth rates of advanced countries. In this note, the author takes issue with Thirlwall’s model, showing that together with the empirical evidence it is not capable of discriminating between the demand and the supply orientated approaches to growth. JEL: F32, F43

Keywords

• A.P. Thirlwall
• post-war growth
• model
• supply
• demand