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Solow and Growth Accounting: A Perspective from Quantitative Economic History

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  • Nicholas Crafts

Abstract

This paper examines the use of growth accounting by economic historians developed following Robert Solow's famous 1957 paper. Several general tendencies are identified, including a desire to account for Solow's residual and a reluctance to adopt the data-demanding methodological refinements of Dale Jorgenson, whose influence on the field was less than that of Edward Denison. Results from historical growth accounting studies are reviewed, and it is clear that the “crude residual” typically accounts for much less than the seven-eighths of labor productivity growth found by Solow and also that when TFP growth is rapid, improvements in efficiency are usually an important complement to technological progress. Nevertheless, growth accounting was important in undermining the “capital fundamentalism” of the 1950s and has been central to putting the contribution of technological progress in the Industrial Revolution into a clearer focus, free of the misleading “take-off” perspective advanced by Walt Rostow.

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  • Nicholas Crafts, 2009. "Solow and Growth Accounting: A Perspective from Quantitative Economic History," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 41(5), pages 200-220, Supplemen.
    • Handle: RePEc:hop:hopeec:v:41:y:2009:i:5:p:200-220
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    Cited by:

    1. Santos, João & Borges, Afonso S. & Domingos, Tiago, 2021. "Exploring the links between total factor productivity and energy efficiency: Portugal, 1960–2014," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    2. Vonyo, Tamas & Klein, Alexander, 2016. "Why Did Socialism Fail? The Role of Factor Inputs Reconsidered," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 276, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    3. Tamás Vonyó & Alexander Klein, 2019. "Why did socialist economies fail? The role of factor inputs reconsidered," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 72(1), pages 317-345, February.
    4. Kyoji Fukao & Tatsuji Makino & Tokihiko Settsu, 2021. "Human Capital And Economic Growth In Japan: 1885–2015," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 710-740, July.
    5. Matthew K. Heun & João Santos & Paul E. Brockway & Randall Pruim & Tiago Domingos & Marco Sakai, 2017. "From Theory to Econometrics to Energy Policy: Cautionary Tales for Policymaking Using Aggregate Production Functions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-44, February.
    6. Nicholas Crafts & Pieter Woltjer, 2021. "Growth Accounting In Economic History: Findings, Lessons And New Directions," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 670-696, July.
    7. Crafts, Nicholas & O’Rourke, Kevin Hjortshøj, 2014. "Twentieth Century Growth*This research has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement no. 249546.," Handbook of Economic Growth, in: Philippe Aghion & Steven Durlauf (ed.), Handbook of Economic Growth, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 6, pages 263-346, Elsevier.
    8. Nicholas Crafts, 2010. "Cliometrics and technological change: a survey," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(5), pages 1127-1147.

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