Contribution of China and India to the Development of Cooperation of Asia-Pacific Countries in Science and Technology

Recently in the world the process of internationalization of scientific and technological activity has been observed. The rapidly developing countries are of particular interest. The article deals with the key areas of scientific and technological development of China and India as the most promising countries in this field. The main components of modern economic growth in these countries are characterized, and the role and importance of these countries for the Asia-Pacific region as a whole are highlighted.

Book Reviews

Albrecht Ritschl of Economic History Department London School of Economics and Political Science reviews “From Old Regime to Industrial State: A History of German Industrialization from the Eighteenth Century to World War I” by Richard H. Tilly and Michael Kopsidis. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Analyzes Germany's transition to modern economic growth, tracing the institutional roots of German industrialization from the eighteenth century to 1914.”

Culture and institutions: a review of Joel Mokyr's A Culture of Growth

This is a review of Joel Mokyr's fascinating book entitled A Culture of Growth. The work is summarized, noting its focus on Darwin-style evolutionary explanations of cultural change. But Mokyr's emphasis on cultural entrepreneurs and positive feedbacks in the procreation of ideas is insufficient to explain the origins of modern economic growth. Too much explanatory weight is placed on too few extraordinary people. It is argued that Mokyr's analysis should be extended, to bring the evolution of institutions, as well as the evolution of culture, into the picture at an additional level. The role of inter-state rivalry and exogenous shocks has also to be underlined. This kind of analysis can be developed within the framework of generalized Darwinism, which Mokyr himself adopts. This is a major and highly stimulating book.

Dynamic Structural Changes in Economic Growth Determinants, Industry Change and Economic Transformation

This study investigates the transformation in economic growth based on the unified growth theory, using a sample ofcross-sectional data over the period 2003-2018. The results show that physical capital, labor, and human capital ofsample country have significant effects on economic growth measured by per capita gross domestic product,especially the impact on the growth of industrial industries; however, their contribution to economic growth haschanged over time. Human capital has become the primary driving force in economic growth, the effect of physicalcapital cannot be ignored, and the role of labor has taken a back seat. The growth rate of total factor productivityimproves economic growth, but its effect on growth has weakened since 2009, suggesting that the sample country istransforming from a post-Malthusian growth stage to a modern economic growth stage. Policy implications of thefindings are discussed.

Urbanisation and the Onset of Modern Economic Growth

A large literature characterizes urbanisation as resulting from productivity growth attracting rural workers to cities. Incorporating economic geography elements into a growth model, we suggest that causation runs the other way: when rural workers move to cities, the resulting urbanisation produces technological change and productivity growth. Urban density leads to knowledge exchange and innovation, thus creating a positive feedback loop between city size and productivity that initiates sustained economic growth. This model is consistent with the fact that urbanisation rates in Western Europe, most notably England, reached unprecedented levels by the mid-18th century, the eve of the Industrial Revolution.

L’histoire immobile? A reappraisal of French economic growth using the demand-side approach, 1280–1850

ABSTRACT We construct a new series of GDP per capita for France for the period 1280–1850 using the demand-side approach. Our estimates point to a long-run stability of the French economy with a very gradual acceleration toward modern economic growth. In comparative perspective, our new estimates suggest that England and France were characterized by similar levels of economic performance until the second half of the seventeenth century. It is only after that period that the English economy “forges ahead” in a consistent way.