P. 45. Economic growth, p. 699.

Defn. an increase in the real GDP per capita of a nation.

Considerations:

1.     The distribution of income

2.     Environmental considerations - green party doesn't want economic growth

Stages of economic growth - primitive communism. slavery. feudalism, capitalism, socialism, communism.

Factors influencing the growth(different theories):

1.    Net investment (the law of variable proportions). Quality of investment matters.

2.    availability of labour(age, mobility, sex, attitude), capital (savings investments, motivation, anticipation) and land,

their efficiency affected by:

a.     education and training

b.     knowledge

c.     stability of economy

d.     investment in technology

e.     unions resistance

3.    Defence expenditure

4.    Gross and net expenditure difference

5.    Population - growth & structure & migration & education & training

Britain hasn't done as well as other West-European countries because:

1.     Government stop-go policies

2.     Trade unions- restrictive practices and high wage demands

3.     Uninventive and -adventurous management (e.g. investment into R&D)

4.     Comfort (UK was first industrialised country)

5.     Low status of engineers and scientists compared to art people

6.     The outflow of capital (little evidence, might be that other factors limit investment opportunities)

7.     Short-term returns are too important

8.     Recent experience from good growth in 1986. due to oil and supply-side policy