Update: View a video of the presentation.In the U.S., recent headlines have focused on such issues as the debt ceiling, the recent credit rating downgrade, and unemployment. But consider this: increasing the average growth rate in the U.S. by one percentage point over the next 20 years would not only result in much higher incomes and more jobs but would also obviate the need for drastic spending cuts today to reign in the government deficit.
With a 2% increase per year, average incomes, and to a first approximation government tax revenues, would be 49% higher in 20 years than they are today; with a 3% increase per year, they would be 81% higher.
The underlying message? We should not take our eye off the really important ball: economic growth and the innovation process that underpins it.
The Faculty Forum Online series continues on Wednesday, Oct. 26, from Noon to 12:30 p.m. EDT. MIT Economics Professor Daron Acemoglu will offer his thoughts on the economy and growth and take questions from the worldwide MIT alumni community via video chat.
Register for this free event to receive the link for live viewing. After the event, come back here and continue the conversation about economic growth in the comments.
About Daron Acemoglu
Daron Acemoglu is the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics at MIT. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of York and a master's and doctorate from the London School of Economics. He began teaching at MIT in 1993, becoming a full professor in 2000. In addition to the books listed below, he's written numerous journal articles. His fields of interest include political economy, economic development, economic growth, economic theory, technology, income and wage inequality, human capital and training, labor economics, and network economics.Books
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty (with James A. Robinson), Crown publishers (Random House), forthcoming March 2012.Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (with James Robinson), Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Introduction to Modern Economic Growth, Princeton University Press, 2009.
Learn more about Daron Acemoglu and read his blog post about economic growth for the Harvard Business Review.
Comments
Howard Klein
Wed, 10/26/2011 12:39pm
Prof. Acemoglu's presentation was very insightful and thought-provoking. It was one of the few presentations I have heard on this topic that I felt was too short!
As a patent attorney, I was especially interested in his comments on the patent system. The patent system has deviated, in my opinion, from its primary missions, and the new patent law will do little, if anything, to correct this.
Elaine Ace
Wed, 10/26/2011 12:34pm
I found the online forum to be very educational and interesting to me. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it.