Economic Growth and Development Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economic Growth and Development - Research Paper Example Economic growth refers to an increase in the output of a country over time according to Glanville and Glanville. It is an increase in a country’s national income indicated by the Gross National Product, GNP or Gross Domestic Product, GDP or in per capita output, that is, GNP or GDP per person. This makes its measurement quantitative, hence a macroeconomic variable that could be measured in a straight-forward manner. The history of economic growth could be traced back to the Adam Smith theory which argues that savings and investment are growth stimulators. Growth would be directly affected by accumulation of capital and indirectly through labour productivity and exchange and trade. This theory postulates economic growth as the increase in the main factors of production, namely, labour, capital and land.Economic growth does not consider the magnitude of the informal economy, also known as the black economy, which refers to the unrecorded economic activity. It does not account fo r natural resources depletion that could lead to pollution and disease. It concerns the increase in the output of an economy. Haller defines it as an increase in the income per capita of a nation, especially quantitatively. The ultimate goal of economic growth according to Colombatto is to increase people’s production and consumption of both goods and services.Economic development differs from economic growth. It is a rather much broader concept which involves non-economic and intangible improvements on the standards of living as documented by Glanville and Glanville