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Evolution of Economic Growth Theories
Sources of Growth, Wealth of Nations & Factors of Development — A Longitudinal Panel Dataset, 1776–2016

Longitudinal Panel Dataset  ·  54 Economists & Growth Theorists
68 Observations  ·  18 Variables (incl. Publication URL)  ·  Based on Major Works & Published Growth Theory
Designed for Thoughtmetrics Panel Data Analysis

54
Economists
68
Observations
18
Variables
240
Years Covered

📋 Dataset Overview

This longitudinal panel dataset traces the evolution of economic growth theories from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776) to Robert Gordon's Rise and Fall of American Growth (2016). Each of the 68 rows represents a specific economist's theoretical position on the determinants of growth, sources of per capita income, and drivers of national wealth — coded from their most influential publication of that year and grounded in what they actually argued.

The dataset is built as a true panel: multiple economists appear at more than one point in time, enabling direct tracing of intellectual evolution. Robert Solow appears in both 1956 (neoclassical model) and 1957 (TFP residual), Simon Kuznets in 1955 and 1966, Joseph Schumpeter in 1911 and 1942, Thomas Malthus in 1798 and 1820, and Daron Acemoglu in 2001 and 2002 and 2012. This allows Thoughtmetrics users to generate time-filtered set theory operations, group economists by school, and produce consciousness matrices comparing paradigms across the three great revolutions in growth theory: the Neoclassical Revolution (1956), the Endogenous Growth Revolution (1986–1995), and the Institutions Paradigm (1990–2012).

The Publication URL column (column 5) provides direct links to each cited work for verification and further reading. All thematic variable values use fixed categorical labels drawn from the vocabulary of growth economics, ensuring meaningful frequency distributions for Thoughtmetrics analysis.

🔗 Publication URL Column — Source Types

BadgeSourceAccessExamples
OPEN EconLib, Marxists.org, Mises.org, Archive.org, Nobel Prize site, CEPAL, NBER working papers, author pages, IMF SDN, Prebisch CEPAL Freely accessible, no login required Smith, Ricardo, Mill, Marshall, Marx, Hayek, Malthus, Myrdal, Hirschman, Rostow, Prebisch, Romer 1986, Frankel–Romer, Sachs, Bernanke, Roubini, Berg–Ostry, Summers, Gordon 2012
JSTOR JSTOR stable article links Free read-only access after registration at jstor.org (up to 100 articles/month) Solow 1956, Solow 1957, Harrod 1939, Domar 1946, Kuznets 1955, Kaldor 1957, Schultz 1961, Baumol 1967, Romer 1990, Aghion–Howitt 1992, Grossman–Helpman 1991, Jones 1995, Young 1995, Hall–Jones 1999, Griliches 1992, Acemoglu 2001, Howitt 2000, Wicksell lectures
DOI Digital Object Identifier — publisher journal pages Institutional access typically required; abstract freely visible Lucas 1988 (Journal of Monetary Economics), Lewis 1954 (Manchester School)
PUBLISHER Publisher landing pages (MIT Press, Harvard UP, Princeton UP, Cambridge UP, Norton, Anthem, Public Affairs, OUP) Freely accessible landing page; purchase may be required for full text Easterly 2001, Sen 1999, Chang 2002, Helpman 2004, Eichengreen 2007, Collier 2007, Reinert 2007, Gordon 2016, Piketty 2014, Rodrik 2011, Mazzucato 2013, Banerjee–Duflo 2011, Acemoglu–Robinson 2012, North 1990
⚡ How to Import & Analyse in Thoughtmetrics
1
Download the Excel file. In Thoughtmetrics, go to Dataset Lab → check ★ Panel Data Mode → Import XLSX.
2
Select "Year" from the time variable dropdown and click Set as Time Variable. The 15 thematic columns become your analysable themes.
3
Time-filtered matrix commands:
Gen Matrix where C = f(Primary Driver of Long-Run Growth, Role of Government in Growth) | time variable (Year) = 1950-1970
Gen Matrix where C = f(Convergence Hypothesis, Institutions Role in Growth) | time variable (Year) = 1990-2012
4
Compare individual economists across time:
compare consciousness sets C_(Robert Solow) and C_(Paul Romer) | Thoughts = Primary Driver of Long-Run Growth, Technology and Innovation Theory
compare consciousness sets C_(Thomas Malthus) and C_(Robert Lucas) | Thoughts = Primary Driver of Long-Run Growth | time variable = 1798-1990
5
Create school-of-thought groups and compare paradigms:
create group of states of consciousness C_(Neoclassicals) = f(School of Thought) | School of Thought = Neoclassical School
create group of states of consciousness C_(Institutionalists) = f(School of Thought) | School of Thought = Institutional School
compare groups of states of consciousness C_(Neoclassicals) and C_(Institutionalists) | Thoughts = Role of Institutions in Growth, Source of Long-Run Per Capita Growth
6
Use Venn diagrams to visualise shared ideas across economists:
venn C_(Robert Solow), C_(Paul Romer), C_(Douglass North) | Thoughts = Primary Driver of Long-Run Growth
Fixed Categorical Values — All 13 Thematic Variables:
Primary Driver of Long-Run Growth: Division of Labor and Specialization | Physical Capital Accumulation | Technology and Innovation (Exogenous) | Knowledge and Endogenous Innovation | Human Capital Investment | Institutions and Social Infrastructure | Trade and Openness | Creative Destruction | Effective Demand and Investment | Natural Resource Base | Geographic Conditions | Structural Transformation | Total Factor Productivity Residual
Role of Physical Capital Accumulation: Central and Perpetual Driver | Diminishing Returns Applies | Complementary to Technology | Subject to Accumulation Limits | Less Important than Human Capital | Depends on Institutional Quality | Physical and Human Capital Combined
Technology and Innovation Theory: Exogenous Manna from Heaven | Endogenous Investment in Knowledge | Creative Destruction Process | Learning by Doing and Spillovers | Technology Diffusion via Trade | Incremental Innovation Only | Innovation Frontier Stagnating
Human Capital and Labor Role: Labor Quantity Determines Output | Skills and Education Core Driver | Health and Nutrition Critical | Demographic Dividend Opportunity | Labor as Passive Factor | Human Capital Key Endogenous Variable | Labor Market Flexibility Needed
Role of Institutions in Growth: Not Analyzed | Implied by Well-Functioning Markets | Fundamental Proximate Cause | Deep Cause via Property Rights | Colonial Legacy Path Dependency | Political Economy is Central | Rules of the Game Enable Markets
Trade and Openness View: Domestic Market Sufficient | Free Trade Promotes Growth | Infant Industry Protection Needed | New Trade Theory Economies of Scale | Technology Transfer via Openness | Export-Led Growth Strategy | Strategic and Managed Integration
Government Role in Growth: Laissez-Faire Non-Intervention | Correct Market Failures Only | Active Industrial Policy | Infrastructure and Public Goods | R&D Support and Science Funding | Entrepreneurial Risk-Taking State | Rule Setter and Institution Builder
Source of Long-Run Per Capita Growth: Capital Deepening | Total Factor Productivity | Human Capital Accumulation | Institutional Improvement | Innovation and R&D | Structural Transformation | Aggregate Demand Management | Knowledge Spillovers
Convergence Hypothesis: Absolute Convergence | Conditional Convergence | No Convergence Tendency | Club Convergence | Divergence is Likely | Institutions Determine Convergence | Technology Catch-Up Enables Convergence
Inequality and Growth Nexus: Inequality Promotes Saving and Accumulation | Kuznets Inverted U Relationship | Inequality Harms Long-Run Growth | Trickle-Down is Sufficient | Capability Deprivation Reduces Growth | Political Economy of Rent-Seeking | No Clear Empirical Link
Financial Development Role: Not Analyzed | Finance Follows Real Sector | Finance Leads and Enables Growth | Financial Instability Constrains Growth | Credit for Investment is Critical | Capital Markets Improve Allocation | Access to Finance for Poor Critical
Geography and Natural Resources: Not Analyzed | Resource Endowment Enables Takeoff | Resource Curse Risk | Geography as Economic Destiny | Disease Environment is Binding | Natural Capital in Production Function | Irrelevant Given Good Institutions
State of Growth Theory Paradigm: Pre-Keynesian Classical Framework | Harrod-Domar Instability Framework | Neoclassical Exogenous Growth | Development Economics Peak | TFP Accounting and Supply Side | Endogenous Growth Revolution | Institutions as Deep Cause Paradigm | Post-2008 Secular Stagnation Debate
🏛️ Schools of Growth Theory Represented
Classical School Classical Liberal Marxist School Neoclassical School Keynesian School Post-Keynesian School Schumpeterian Economics Development Economics Endogenous Growth Theory Institutional School New Economic Geography Innovation Economics Econometrics School New Classical School New Keynesian School Economic History International Economics International Macroeconomics Environmental Economics Labor Economics
👤 54 Economists — 68 Observations — 1776 to 2016
Adam Smith (1776) — Division of Labor, Wealth of Nations David Ricardo (1817) — Comparative Advantage, Capital Thomas Malthus (1798, 1820) — Population Limits, Effective Demand John Stuart Mill (1848) — Stationary State, Liberal Growth Karl Marx (1867) — Capital Accumulation, Contradictions Alfred Marshall (1890) — External Economies, Marginal Analysis Knut Wicksell (1901) — Capital, Interest and Growth Joseph Schumpeter (1911, 1942) — Innovation, Creative Destruction Roy Harrod (1939) — Warranted Growth Rate, Instability Evsey Domar (1946) — Capacity and Demand, Knife-Edge Arthur Lewis (1954) — Dual Sector, Unlimited Labour Moses Abramovitz (1956) — TFP Residual, Technological Change Robert Solow (1956, 1957) — Neoclassical Model, TFP Trevor Swan (1956) — Swan Diagram, Capital Accumulation Simon Kuznets (1955, 1966) — Kuznets Curve, Modern Growth Gunnar Myrdal (1957) — Cumulative Causation, Divergence Albert Hirschman (1958) — Unbalanced Growth, Linkages Nicholas Kaldor (1957) — Technical Progress Function Walt Rostow (1960) — Stages of Growth, Takeoff Theodore Schultz (1961) — Human Capital, Education Returns Gary Becker (1964) — Human Capital Theory, Rate of Return Edward Denison (1962) — Growth Accounting, Sources of Growth William Baumol (1967) — Unbalanced Growth, Cost Disease Raul Prebisch (1950) — Dependency, Terms of Trade Jacob Mincer (1974) — Schooling and Earnings, Mincerian Returns Richard Easterlin (1974) — Growth and Happiness, Human Lot Nathan Rosenberg (1982) — Inside the Black Box, Technology Paul Romer (1986, 1990) — Knowledge Spillovers, Endogenous Tech Robert Lucas (1988) — Human Capital and Growth, Mechanics Douglass North (1990) — Institutions and Economic Change Gene Grossman & Elhanan Helpman (1991) — Innovation, Trade Paul Krugman (1991) — Economic Geography, Increasing Returns Philippe Aghion & Peter Howitt (1992) — Schumpeterian Growth Zvi Griliches (1992) — R&D Spillovers, Knowledge Production Charles Jones (1995) — R&D-Based Growth, Scale Effects Alwyn Young (1995) — East Asia Tyranny of Numbers Jeffrey Sachs (1997) — Geography and Development, Tropics Jeffrey Frankel & David Romer (1999) — Trade Causes Growth Robert Hall & Charles Jones (1999) — Social Infrastructure Peter Howitt (2000) — Schumpeterian Cross-Country Differences Jeffrey Williamson (1998) — Globalization and Labor Markets Angus Maddison (2001) — Historical GDP, Millennial Perspective Acemoglu, Johnson & Robinson (2001) — Colonial Origins William Easterly (2001) — Elusive Quest, Development Traps Amartya Sen (1999) — Development as Freedom, Capabilities Ha-Joon Chang (2002) — Kicking Away the Ladder, Institutions Daron Acemoglu (2002) — Technical Change and Inequality Elhanan Helpman (2004) — Mystery of Economic Growth Nicholas Stern (2006) — Climate and Growth, Stern Review Joseph Stiglitz (2006) — Making Globalization Work Barry Eichengreen (2007) — European Postwar Growth Miracle Paul Collier (2007) — The Bottom Billion, Growth Traps Erik Reinert (2007) — How Rich Countries Got Rich Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo (2011) — Poor Economics Tyler Cowen (2011) — Great Stagnation, Low-Hanging Fruit Andrew Berg & Jonathan Ostry (2011) — Inequality and Growth Dani Rodrik (2011) — Globalization Paradox, Structural Change Robert Gordon (2012, 2016) — Faltering Innovation, Headwinds Mariana Mazzucato (2013) — Entrepreneurial State, Mission Economy Daron Acemoglu & James Robinson (2012) — Why Nations Fail Lawrence Summers (2014) — Secular Stagnation, Zero Lower Bound Thomas Piketty (2014) — r > g, Capital Returns Rising

File: Evolution_of_Economic_Growth_Theories_Panel_Dataset_Thoughtmetrics.xlsx  ·  18 columns including Publication URL