Classical Economics on Limits to Growth

摘要

Neoclassical economics seems to have rejected the concept of limits to growth byassuming that the market and the technological advances invoked by it will make itpossible to tap new resources and create substitution of production factors, while it hasoutright excluded limitations invoked by the political, psychological and socialinstitutions in its analysis. Classical economics, other the other hand, appears to havebeen cognizant of a multitude of limitations to growth, including demographic,environmental, and social. This paper reconstructs classical economic growth modelsusing system dynamics method and demonstrates their behavior using computersimulation. A case is made for taking a pluralistic view of the growth process andreincorporating a multitude of institutions driving it into our models to arrive at realisticpolicy options.