This paper reviews the mainstream, resource economics, and ecological economics models of growth. A possible synthesis of energy-based and mainstream models is presented. This shows that when energy is scarce it imposes a strong constraint on the growth of the economy; however, when energy is abundant, its effect on economic growth is much reduced. The industrial revolution released the constra...

The health of a population is important from a public health and economic perspective as healthy individuals contribute to economic growth. Vaccination has the potential to contribute substantially to improving population health and thereby economic growth. Childhood vaccination programmes in Europe can offer protection against 15 important infectious diseases, thus preventing child fatalities ...

In this study I examine the role of microenterprises (firms with between one and four employees) in Wisconsin economic growth. Using a panel of Wisconsin counties from 1977 to 1997 I estimate an expanded Carlino-Mills type model of growth. Results suggest that nearly 50 percent of all businesses in Wisconsin are microenterprises and this share is relatively stable over time. Results also indica...

The preceding chapters have explored the determinants of income inequality at the level of the individuals and families who live, work and raise their children within a national economy. We have seen that certain key characteristics of the individuals in the family, most notably the education of the household’s adult members, are important determinants of the household’s decisions about labor f...

(1992) and Kydland (1995) for a survey of this literature. 2 Merz (1995) introduces such time delays in the form of costly search in the labor market while Christiano and Todd (1996) considers a time-to-plan investment process. M odern business cycle theories are evaluated on the basis of their ability to explain key empirical features of the postwar U.S. business cycle. The failure of nonmarke...