Course type
IWH-DPE Elective Course (Macro & Productivity Topic Track); Special Course
Lecturer
Professor Dr Lars Börner (MLU)
Summary
Long-term growth drives the economy and generates prosperity. This course addresses the question of how long-term growth is generated. It focuses on three main areas. Firstly, it considers the importance of human capital and technology. It explores the origins of technological innovation and its impact on productivity and growth. Secondly, it considers the importance of institutions, paying particular attention to the role of the state. Thirdly, the course explores the development and change of economic policy measures, such as monetary and economic policy, and their influence on growth. This course has a long-term time horizon; we will delve into historical developments spanning several centuries to understand how the world has evolved.
Schedule
24.04.2026 10:30-12:00 and 13:00-14:30 IWH, Leipziger Str. 100, 3rd floor, Conference Room
08.05.2026 10:30-12:00 and 13:00-14:30 IWH, Leipziger Str. 100, 3rd floor, Conference Room
Content
- Long Run Growth
- Technology, Human Capital, and Economic Growth
- Institutions, State Formation, and Economic Growth
- Monetary and Fiscal Policy in the Long Run
Course requirements
Attendance at all lectures is mandatory and a prerequisite to take the exam.
Students will receive two take-home essays to complete.
Suggested Reading
1. Long Run Growth:
Acemoglu, D., Johnson, S., & Robinson, J. A. (2005). Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long‑Run Growth. In P. Aghion & S. Durlauf (Eds.), Handbook of Economic Growth (Vol. 1A, pp. 385–472). Elsevier.
Broadberry S, Wallis JJ. Growing, Shrinking, and Long-Run Economic Performance: Historical Perspectives on Economic Development. The Journal of Economic History. 2025;85(2):505-540.
Galor, Oded. “Economic Growth in the Very Long Run.” In The New Palgrave Economics Collection, 57–67. Cham: Springer, 2018.
Jones, Charles I. “The Past and Future of Economic Growth: A Semi‑Endogenous Perspective.” Annual Review of Economics 14 (2022): 125–152.
Jones, Charles I. The Outlook for Long‑Term Economic Growth. NBER Working Paper 31648, 2023. http://www.nber.org/papers/w31648.
2. Technology, Human Capital, and Economic Growth
Goldin, Claudia. “Human Capital.” In Handbook of Cliometrics, edited by Claude Diebolt and Michael Haupert, 55–86. Cham: Springer, 2016.
Mokyr, Joel. “Long‑Term Economic Growth and the History of Technology.” In Handbook of Economic Growth, Vol. 1B, edited by Philippe Aghion and Steven N. Durlauf, 1113–1180. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005.
Stockey, Nancy L. Technology diffusion. Review of Economic Dynamics 42, 2021, pp. 15–36.
3. Institutions, State Formation and Economic Growth
Acemoglu, Daron. “Root Causes: A Historical Approach to Assessing the Role of Institutions in Economic Development.” Finance & Development 40, no. 2 (2003): 27–30.
Besley, Timothy, and Torsten Persson. “The Origins of State Capacity.” American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 99, no. 2 (2009): 121–126.
Dincecco, Mark. “Fiscal Centralization, Limited Government, and Public Revenues in Europe, 1650–1913.” Journal of Economic History 69, no. 1 (2009): 48–103.
Johnson, Noel D., and Mark Koyama. “States and Economic Growth: Capacity and Constraints.” Explorations in Economic History 64 (2017): 1–20.
4. Monetary and Fiscal Policy in the Long Run
Auerbach, Alan J., William G. Gale and Benjamin H. Harris. Activist Fiscal Policy. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2010, Vol. 24 (4), pp. 141-64.
Bordo, Michael D. The History of Monetary Policy. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan,3. ed., 2018, pp. 9003-11.
Eichengreen, Barry. Globalizing Capital: A History of the International Monetary System. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008.
Reinhart, Carmen M., and Kenneth S. Rogoff. “Growth in a Time of Debt.” American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 100, no. 2 (2010): 573–578.
Romer, Christina D. and David H. Romer. Choosing the Federal Reserve Chair: Lessons from History. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2004, Vol. 18 (1), pp. 129-162.
Registration
Please register for the course until March 31, 2026 by sending an e-mail to cgde@iwh-halle.de.