Overview

Among the most enduring questions in economics are those related to growth and development. Since 1776, when Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, economists have been assessing the factors determining a nation’s standard of living. At Adam Smith’s time the focus was primarily on the level of living standards. There was much less motivation to study ongoing economic progress because not much sustained growth had ever occurred! The best growth theorist among the classical economists was Thomas Malthus, who explained why living standards failed to improve over time and instead remained stagnant in the long-run.