This paper deals with the relationship between innovation and economic growth in the context of developed world. After examining the correlation between economic growth and R&D (research and development) intensity, and given that the impact of R&D on economic growth is mediated by the rate of...

By means of an endogenous growth model of directed technical change with vertical and horizontal R&D, we study a transitional-dynamics mechanism that is consistent with the changes in the share of the high- versus the low-tech sectors found in recent European data. Under the hypothesis of a...

We use an extensive dataset on occupational wages to measure the manufacturing skill premium and evaluate the importance of the main drivers in literature plus the effects of natural resources and institutions. Results, regarding a panel of 21 countries between 1987 and 2003, suggest the...

We propose a framework to solve dynamic nonlinear infinite-horizon models like those found in the standard economic growth literature. We employ a direct method to solve the underlying optimal control problem, something novel in the economic literature. Instead of deriving the necessary...

The phenomenon of population ageing and its influence on the economic growth of countries has long been the focus of major concern for both governments and the scientific community. Considering the scientific contributions that have been published on the matter in recent years, it seems timely...

Although a myriad of important theoretical and empirical contributions on ageing populations exist, these contributions are diffuse and lack an integrated vision of the distinct mechanisms through which ageing populations impact on economic growth. As such, in this paper we survey the literature...

After a period of convergence where many perceived the country as a success case, Portugal’s economic performance proved to be disappointing in the last decade. In this study we focus on the relationship between technology and economic catching-up in order to answer to two major questions: (i)...

Despite the importance of human capital stock to the economic growth of countries, its analysis has been restricted to more developed countries or to cross-country samples from a set of countries. Due to a lack of estimates for this variable in less developed countries, it has not been possible...

An important characteristic of the role of foreign trade in the technological catch-up of countries is the complementary nature of technological change and human capital formation. In this context, the level of education is likely to have a crucial impact on total factor productivity because it...

In this paper, we examine the studies, since Adam Smith, on the impact of commercial and technological aspects, resulting from international trade, on the physical accumulation and quality of productive factors. We remark that the theory of economic growth and the theory of international trade,...