Endogenous Growth traces the intellectual evolution of growth theory, from its formative origins to its modern formalisation. The authors investigate how endogenous growth theory developed alongside the dominant analytical frameworks of dynamic macroeconomics. The book examines why models incorporating imperfect competition, heterogeneous returns, and alternative equilibrium concepts were long overshadowed. Through careful attention to the mathematical foundations—Hamiltonians, dy...

The 800 pound gorilla in the room of macroeconomics is the question of why the overlapping generations model didn’t become the central workhorse model for macroeconomics. Introduced in 1958 by Paul Samuelson, the model postulates an infinite number of finite-lived families. This is in stark contrast to the more dominant neoclassical growth model, which is based on the assumption that real economies are populated by a finite number of dynastic families. Despite the greater realism of the fo...