SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUES IN MEASURING REGIONAL GROWTH

Keywords

Environmental policy, Economic growth, Consumer economics, Capital depreciation, Income distribution, Environmental quality, Natural resources, Workforce, Social costs

Abstract

Only since World War II has Regional Economics become a definable and separate field. In this milieu of base industries, input-output tables, and multipliers many concepts and techniques have been and are being developed. Despite all this progress, it is my contention in this paper that our failure to conceptualize adequately the basic concept of economic growth is responsible for some analytical impotence in Regional Economics. In a recent television program (Face the Nation, April 13, 1969) Arthur Burns said, "that before anything can be evaluated it must be grasped intellectually." Professor Burns is one of the most venerated gurus around Washington these days, and his advice can be aptly applied to the problems of economic growth. The first section of the paper deals with our traditional concepts of growth and ways it is usually measured. The second contains some observations as to why the concept needs to be improved and how, in principle, this might be done. The third discusses some implications for research and planning.

Original Publication Citation

Gardner, B. Delworth. “SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUES IN MEASURING REGIONAL GROWTH.” Proceedings, Annual Meeting (Western Agricultural Economics Association), vol. 42, 1969, pp. 246–253. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43913065.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1969-07-20

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5081

Publisher

Western Agricultural Economics Association

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Economics

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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