Galor Oded
Brown University, NBER, CERP, IZA and CESifo.
Annu Rev Econom. 2025 Aug;17:197-216. doi: 10.1146/annurev-economics-090324-034939. Epub 2025 Mar 28.
What sparked humanity's leap from stagnation to prosperity? What lies at the core of inequality among nations? Unified Growth Theory explores the evolution of societies over the entire course of human history. It uncovers the universal wheels of change that have governed the journey of humanity, driven the growth process, and shaped inequality across the globe. The theory sheds light on two of the most fundamental mysteries surrounding this journey: (i) -the origins of the dramatic transformation in human prosperity over the past two centuries, in the wake of millennia of near stagnation; and (ii) -the roots of the vast inequality in the wealth of nations. The theory suggests that forces operating in the distant past are central to the understanding of the uneven development across the globe and the design of effective policies that could promote economic growth and mitigate inequality.
是什么引发了人类从停滞到繁荣的飞跃?国家间不平等的核心因素是什么?统一增长理论探讨了人类历史全过程中社会的演变。它揭示了推动人类进程、驱动增长过程并塑造全球不平等现象的普遍变革机制。该理论阐明了围绕这一进程的两个最基本的谜团:(i)在历经数千年的近乎停滞之后,过去两个世纪人类繁荣发生巨大转变的根源;(ii)国家财富巨大不平等的根源。该理论表明,久远过去发挥作用的力量对于理解全球不均衡发展以及制定能够促进经济增长和减少不平等的有效政策至关重要。